


Fili's Tale: A Novel with Letters and Notes

by ChibiMethos



Series: Stone, Oak, & Athelas [3]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Everybody Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Gen, Post BotFA
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 11:44:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 50,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11035533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiMethos/pseuds/ChibiMethos
Summary: This is the third installment in my post BotFA Everybody lives/Nobody Dies timeline that began with Candy Coated Raindrops, and continued with What Happened at New Years, now part of the Stone, Oak, & Athelas Series.In this third story, Prince Fili finally has his say. As the eldest son of Dís, and Thorin Oakenshield's nephew, Fili has always known he was born to be king, and has always done his duty to his office with little protest. After his mother Dís and his little brother KIli defied everyone around them and followed their hearts, Fili was sure his own marriage would be for duty alone.Then, he received his first slightly clandestine letter from Lady Sigrid of Dale, and everything began to change.





	1. Chapter the First

**Author's Note:**

> I must first apologize, as this story took two years to write, but we know so little of Fili that it was hard for me to find his voice. And yet, because we know so little of him, I wanted him to have a chance to speak, so most of this story is told from his perspective, not switching much between characters as I often tend to do. 
> 
> Please enjoy, and know that Thorin and little Tilda will be coming along at some point in the future.
> 
> I also apologize for any oddities in the formating. As usual, the RTF upload played havoc with my formating. -_-;
> 
>  
> 
> ***

Year One:

  
  
      “They've been gone almost two weeks,” Prince Fili sat back in the chair in his temporary office, and grinned at his younger brother, Prince Kili, who was seated across from him. “And Uncle Thorin's mood does not seem to have improved.”

      Kili laughed in agreement. “No, I think it will take more than a few weeks for him to get over Mother's so-called betrayal. You know he is still furious with her for marrying Thranduil, and about Mali.”   
      “And it is not as if Mother has not earned the right to a little happiness,” Fili added. “She has given up so much for us. I honestly think that Thranduil will take good care of them, no matter what Thorin believes.”   
      Before they could continue, there was a light knock on the door, and Ori's bowl-shaped hair cut and prominent nose appeared in the door crack. “Sire?”   
      Fili sighed. “Come in, Ori. And stop calling me 'sire.' I'm just plain old Fili, same as always.”   
      The younger dwarf stepped fully into the room, a folded paper in his hands. “This just arrived for you, from Dale.”   
      Fili nodded and accepted the letter. “Excellent. I was hoping Bard would get back to me about the trade treaty, I just wasn't expecting it to be so soon.” He started to open the letter.   
     “I don't think that is from King Bard,” Ori said, and Fili's hand stopped. He looked up.   
     “What do you mean?”   
     “The writing looks like it belongs to a female,” Ori said quietly. Fili turned the paper over, and studied his name, which was written on the outside. The hand was indeed to light to be a man's. His curiosity peaked, Fili carefully opened the letter. 

_To: Fili, Crown Prince of Erebor_  
 _From: Sigrid, First Lady of Dale_  
  
_Hail and Well Met, Your Highness, and Happy New Year. I would like to think that I am technically the first person to wish you so, even if you will not receive this for several days. The date above will prove me right, and I am content with that._  


  
     Fili chuckled, and looked at Ori and Kili, who were watching him with open curiosity. He refolded the letter, and put his hand over it.   
     “It is from Lady Sigrid,” Fili told them. “She writes to wish me a Happy New Year.”   
     Ori nodded and turned to leave. “Well, now we know. I am pleased that it is not bad news.”   
     Kili rose. “I shall leave you to your missive,” he told his brother. “Tauriel and I will not be joining you for dinner.” He smiled in a slow way that told Fili far more than he wished to know. "We have plans."   
    Fili nodded, feeling slightly envious of his little brother. Kili was like a cat; no matter how he fell, he always managed to land on his feet. Nothing really fazed him, and he, being the Spare, had few real responsibilities.   
    When everyone was gone, Fili reopened the letter.  

  
_I am sure that you are wondering why I am writing to you, out of the clear blue. After all, Properly Bred Young Ladies do not write letters to men to whom they are neither married or related, but I have my reasons._  
 _When we first met in Laketown, I had no inkling that you were a royal prince. I have always known that I was descended from the last Lord of Dale, but as we were much reduced in status and circumstances, I was not raised to be a noble Lady. Instead, I learned to be a good wife and mother someday, to an equally poor husband, that would not much mind that I had no dowry._  
 _And then, the dragon was dead, everyone was calling Da 'King' and I was expected to be a Lady. With no preparation whatsoever! And now I know that you and your brother are in much the same circumstance. When I realized that, I determined to write to you._  
 _There is so much craziness in both of our lives now, but I was hoping that maybe we could write to one another, and share our frustrations about where we suddenly find ourselves. I know that you have Kili to help you through, but I really have no-one. Bain and Tilda are still young enough to adjust with more ease, and there is much I feel as if I need to say, and I cannot say it to them. I don't really feel good bothering Da with my thoughts on this matter; he has enough with which to deal, running a city._  
 _But you are closest to me in age and circumstances, so I hope that you might be willing to help me. And it helps that we have, at least, already been introduced in real life._  
 _If I am truly presuming, at least send me back a note telling me to go away, and I will come up with a different plan. If however, you are willing, I will look forward to hearing from you often._  
  
_\---Yours, Sigrid,_  
 _First Lady of Dale._

  
    Fili couldn't help but smile as he laid her letter aside, and pulled over a clean sheet of paper.

_Lady Sigrid,_  
  
_I am quite pleased that you think well enough of me to use me as an Agony Aunt. While it is true that I have Kili to help me to vent, sometimes, there are instances when griping at him won't really work, especially if he is the source of the gripe._  
 _You may rest assured, that I do not find your request in any way presumptuous; in fact, I am rather disappointed that I did not think of it myself. So, please, write to me as often as you would like. I can assure you that whatever you tell me will be in complete confidence. If you tell me to burn your letters after I read them, consider them ashes before you even send them._  
 _A word of caution: since, as you pointed out, we are neither married nor related, it might be better for your father not to know that we are communicating in this manner. I will have Ori send my letters and bring yours; he will be discrete, and they will not be opened in-route._  
 _I look forward to hearing from you soon._  
  
_\---Fili_

  
    As he set the letter aside to be posted, Fili was startled by a curt knock, and the door to his office swinging open before he could give his consent. He hastily turned the letter over, and slipped it under some other papers.   
    “Uncle, to what do I owe the pleasure?”   
    Thorin gave his nephew a grin and took the seat Kili had occupied not an hour before.   
   “You know, this whole . . . debacle . . . with your mother and that elf has got me thinking,” Thorin started.   
    _‘Oh, no,’_ Fili thought.   
   “What this family needs, hell, what Erebor needs is an infusion of fresh blood,” Thorin continued.  
   “Okay . . .” Fili agreed cautiously. “And how would we go about that?”   
   “Marriage alliances. We only really had two chances to get it right, but Kili already thoroughly botched his, so we have to be extra careful with yours.”   
   Fili's eyebrow rose. “I rather think Kili would be disinclined to agree that his marriage is a botch job, and Mother that hers is a debacle. They found their happiness, Uncle. And I am given to understand that you didn't want Mother and Father to marry either, so forgive me if I take your opinion on that matter with a grain of salt.”   
    Thorin scoffed. “Very well. I feel their matches were ill conceived, but I would not trade you or your brother for anything. But that is another matter. I want to talk about your marriage.”   
    Fili sighed. “Uncle, I'm not ready. I'll be honest; Kili was, but I have yet to see any girl that just . . . grabs me the way Tauriel did for Kili. Maybe I never will. I will do my duty, but I’d like the chance to be happy doing it.”   
    Thorin nodded. “Well, there are lots of young ladies returning to the Mountain every day. Perhaps one will catch your eye.”   
    Fili had a brief flashback of warm, willing lips and soft hair, and felt himself flush. “Perhaps,” he agreed. He cast his eyes over the desktop for a moment, then looked at Thorin.   
    “Is there aught else, Uncle?”   
    “No,” Thorin rose. “But you will think on the matter?” He pressed.   
    “Of course, Uncle.” Thorin departed, and Fili picked up the letter he had just finished writing and gazed at the envelope.   
    Perhaps Lady Sigrid’s request was more timely than she realized.   
  
*** 

  _Dear Fili._  
 _My, that sounds odd! I must find a salutation that will not seem so intimate, but still be between friends. I am more glad than you know that you have agreed to let us write, though I agree about my father; Da is indulgent to a fault, but even he has his limits._  
 _And now we come to it, and I can't think of anything to say. Typical. Well, then I shall just have to bore you with my day until I can think of something relevant._  
 _Tilda, Bain and I have tutors now. Before this, I had a little schooling from Mama before she died, and Da made sure that we could read, write a bit, and do basic maths. I learned what I could, and helped Bain and Tilda until they learned all I knew, and I couldn't teach them anymore. With the new tutors, I am quickly beginning to see just how woefully ignorant I am. It's quite depressing, truth be told._  
 _Every morning, I have etiquette classes, maths, reading and writing (apparently, my penmanship is beyond appalling. I don't see why it matters; the people who need to read it, can). In the afternoons, I have riding, archery, art, language, and dance. In between, I have an army of staff to manage, menus to plan, callers to entertain, and I try to find a moment or two to spend with Tilda, Bain, and Da._  
 _At the moment, Tilda is sitting on the floor, playing with her doll while I write this. Bain is with Da, having a sword lesson. I can't stay here too long, as I am expecting several callers for tea this afternoon. I have no idea what I am supposed to talk to them about; I have nothing in common with these matrons. I have no child of my own, and it seems that talking about your knitting and spinning in Company is Not Done._  
 _I think the governess Da engaged for Tilda and I, Lady Finna, talks all in Capital Letters most of the time. I know she has to be completely frustrated with me. I'm far older than anyone she's only just started looking after, and there really is not much that she can teach me about being a wife that I don't already know. I know for a fact that I cook far better than she does, and sew better as well, though my stitching had a higher purpose than making useless pillows, for chairs no-one is allowed to sit in anyway. Thankfully, she mainly superintends on Tilda, in whom I have high hopes. She will be well educated, but practical, and far more ready to face the world than I am, of that I am determined._  
 _Maybe boys don't have to go through this, but I find that I am constantly having to prove over and over again that I am not an incomp. It is incredibly vexing._  
 _Oh, I can hear Lady Finna already. The Biddies must be on their way._  
  
_Later:_  
  
_Well, tea went about as well as can be expected. Tilda and I changed clothes, and we sat very politely in the sitting room, smiling, and trying to look interested as the old ladies talked about their grown sons, and complained about their dearth of grandchildren. It was just as tedious and boring as every other tea to which Tilda and I have been subjected in the last six months. It is patently unfair that Bain and Da are allowed to be exempted from these tortures._  
 _You know, I think Tilda and I behaved very well at King Thranduil's ball, and later at the one Da and I hosted here. I really wish I could get out of all these tedious lessons._  
 _But never mind; I am complaining, which is not like me at all. Forgive me for the bitter tone of this letter. I promise to write in a more upbeat manner in my next letter. I must go, I have to see to the last of the dinner preparations._  
  
_\--Sigrid._   
  
*** 

_Hail and Well Met, my friend._  
  
_I am sorry that you thought your letter was complaining. I am not even sorry to say that I laughed my way through the entire thing. You are right; Kili and I do not have to keep proving that we know how to do anything. But that is mostly because most everyone here thinks that we are a few coals short of a load anyway. Kili and I have been working on the various rebuilding projects that are still taking place. The major work in the city itself is finished, but little things, like lights, stature repair, shoring up stairs, and railings, unclogging and replacing 200 year old plumbing! The list feels as if it will never end._  
 _Tauriel is still training her archers, and she and Kili are just as attached as they ever were. Sometimes, I wish we could go back to Ered Luin with Mother, and just be simple dwarrow again. Our lives weren't really that easy; it was a hand to mouth existence, and Thorin was often traveling to make more money so we didn't starve. But Kili was my closest friend, and Mother was close by to talk to._  
 _And then I remember how selfish that thought is. I love Tauriel as my own sister, and I am truly glad that she is with us here. She makes my little brother smile in a happy way that even our games as children could not. I envy that, I will be honest. And it makes me even more determined to find it for myself._  
 _But I am sorry; that is a rather intimate topic and this only our second letter._  
 _Let us then move to the mundane: living under a mountain is quite a culture shock for Kili, Ori, myself, and a lot of the younger dwarrow. We are forever looking for excuses to go outside; there are plenty of repairs that need to be made out there, so Uncle cannot exactly stop us, but I know that he does not understand. Kili and I are suffocating._  
 _I know everyone talks about this affinity that dwarrow are supposed to have with stone, and I can indeed sense what sorts of minerals and such might be in a given deposit, but Durin's Mighty Beard, I just do not feel safe knowing that A: I am living inside of a volcano (an extinct one, but still!), and B: that there are tons and tons of stone over my head, supported on pillars that have not been maintained for two centuries._  
 _Kili and I are already making our warm weather camping plans. Tauriel is talking about getting a little cottage in Dale, which doesn't sound half bad, but I think Thorin would expire from shock if we actually did that, so for now, it will just be silly talk._  
 _Mother wrote to tell Kili and I that Thranduil is spoiling Mali already. He carries her about everywhere, even when he is working, which Kili finds amusing, but Mother does not. I am honestly having a hard time picturing the arrogant elf that threw us into jail without so much as a by your leave, carrying a baby more than a few feet at a time._  
 _I suppose he can be an indulgent father (just look at Legolas), but really? However, I have heard that daughters often bring out the best (and worst) in some fathers. I suppose I shall just have to see it myself before I believe it._  
 _Reading this over, I cannot help but notice that we neither of us really did much griping. I think we have been oldest children too long. Even in private, we cannot help but focus on our siblings._  
 _Ah, well. I am sure something will come along that will one day warrant a ranting explosion._  
  
_Yours, Fili._  
  
_***_

 


	2. Chapter the Second

 

    “Bloody elves.”  
     Fili groaned softly, and closed the notebook he was holding. He was waiting for Thorin in the king’s office, needing to go over some of his newly added duties, and had started taking a few notes for his next letter to Lady Sigrid as he did. Thorin’s exclamation as he banged open the door had jerked him out of his thoughts. He turned.  
     “Uncle?”  
     Thorin shut the door and looked at Fili. “Have I mentioned lately how much I hate elves.”  
     Fili rolled his eyes. “You never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. What's or dare I say who's happened now?”  
    “Bloody Wood-elf.” Thorin marched over to his desk to put down the papers he was carrying.  
    “Which one? Sister Tauriel or Thranduil?” Fili asked.  
    He turned to face Fili. “Both! Either! She wants to have some elf party here, and invite that ass-hat back after he's only just left!”  
    Fili sighed. “It's an outdoor revelry to celebrate the start of spring, Uncle. And of course she would want Thranduil there; he is her father, you know.”  
    “No.” Thorin’s voice was firm. “She wants to live with dwarves, she’ll just have to be happy with our celebrations.”  
    Fili shook his head. “She is hostess here now that Mother has gone. As a princess, she has a duty to set the Social conventions,” Fili argued, recalling something Sigrid had written a few days before.  
    “If she cannot be allowed to do that, how am I ever to marry? Or Ori? Or Gimli, when he is old enough? We have to be able to meet people, Uncle. We cannot exist in a vacuum.  
    Exile has given our people a chance to have free access to us, and they liked it. You cannot expect an entire generation and a half to revert to old conventions under which they have never lived. And of course she would pick an elven holiday, those are the ones she knows best. Let her try. Doing it once can’t hurt anything.”  
    Thorin huffed an unhappy sigh. “I hate that she is here.”  
    “I know,” Fili said softly. “But I do not. And unless you are going to take on Mother's housekeeping duties in Tauriel’s stead, I suggest you resign yourself to the fact that she is here, and as your hostess, treat her with a modicum of respect. The Seven Families are watching, and they will not send their precious daughters to a place where outsiders are not respected.”  
    Thorin nodded, his face clearing. He pulled Fili to him, and pressed their foreheads together.  
   “You are right. They will always be looking for our family to fail. I may dislike her as much as I wish in private, but in public—”  
    “Uncle,” Fili’s voice took on a note of censure. “Tauriel will ignore you, but you will alienate Kili. Think on that before you step onto the road that line of thought will draw you down.”  
    “Kili will be fine.” Thorin whirled away and took his seat. “Now, about the new paving project . . .”  
  
***  
  
    _. . . So Thorin will let her have one party and no more. I swear, he is bound and determined to keep our people as utterly isolated as we once were. It is ridiculous, and I hate dangling the idea of my marrying over every argument against isolationism._  
_I have no desire to wed at the moment, and really can't anyway. Erebor is barely in a fit state, and I cannot bring a bride here._  
_Hmm. I may use that when Thorin mentions I have to choose a bride again. But for now, I intend to abandon the topic, and hope it goes away . . ._  
  
_Fili_

***  
  
_Thankfully, Da is not interested in talking about marriage. The last of the dwarves that came from the mountain to help get our houses in order have departed, and Dale is once again a bit of its former self._  
_We have a lovely 5 bedroom house to live in. It is odd, being an adult, and only now having a room of ones own. I was sure I would be lonely without Tilda’s feet pressed into my ribs, but I’m not._  
_Being able to shut the door, and close out the world is the most amazing experience I have ever had, and I get to repeat it every night._  
_Glorious._  
  
_We are finalizing the last of the building plans for the new palace reconstruction. Da does not seem to be looking forward to the day we have to move in, but that is years away. Like Thorin, Da feels like the palace is the least important building while people were still living rough. But that’s all over now, and the city council submitted a petition to get the palace rebuilt._  
_For now though, we will remain here, as the plans as still much under review and debate._  
_Must fly; duty calls._  
  
_Sigrid_

  
***  
  
_Hail._  
  
_Tauriel has taken her archers out for a field drill, and is expected to be gone for some weeks. Kili is pouting because he couldn’t go along, and Thorin is enjoying ‘having the house back.’_  
_I have kept my peace. Tauriel left detailed menus and notes, but incidents happen every day that require minute corrections to keep everything running smoothly. The housekeeper is a competent dam, but even she must consult the lady of the house on some matters._  
_I know my sister, and she will not be happy when she returns. I have left instructions that I am to be consulted, and hopefully, that will stave off the worst of it---_  
  
_Later:_  
  
_I should be a fortune teller. No sooner had I written the above when I was summoned to an audience with a group of merchants, just arrived from the Gray Mountains._  
_We were happy to see our kin, but now, a feast must be laid on, with no hostess and not enough food. I have sent a raven to find and collect Tauriel . . ._  
  
***  
  
_Goodness! I cannot wait to hear how this little drama of yours will end!_  
  
_There is nothing near so exciting happening here. The plans Da submitted for a modest, grand house in lieu of rebuilding the palace were summarily rejected by the city council. It seems they want the old palace rebuilt, bigger and better than ever, but neither Da nor I really wish to live in unrivaled splendor, towering over our friends. I must try and help him reach an amicable solution to this matter._  
_Lady Finna has taken exception to the way I do my sums, but if the numbers balance, who cares how I arrive at them? She really irritates me sometimes, and I am glad she is not really my tutrix._  
_Tilda and I intend to ride tomorrow if the weather is fine. I want to see the progress being made on the memorial being built in the park near the market, and Tilda wants something from one of the toy shops . . ._  
  
***  
  
_Tauriel has returned in a flurry of fresh game, smiles, and charm. And just in time, too. The housekeeper was lamenting the lack of meat for a feast, but Tauriel's arrival will allow us to save some face in explaining why she was not there to greet our guests. It was commented upon . . ._  
  
_Later:_  
  
_It seems that news of Mother's marriage has not yet reached the Gray Mountains, and Thorin was somewhat reluctant to discuss it (no surprise). Still, he was congratulated on securing a strong ally through two marriages, and cementing it with Mali's birth, as if Thorin had the baby!_  
_The teasing then turned on Tauriel, Kili, and I. We played along, but having long observed my sister, she was quite as annoyed by it all as Kili and I were. Does no-one think of anything but alliances?_  
_Our guests will be here for many weeks yet . . ._  
  
***  
  
_Oh, Fili,_  
_Of course they do. All the time. I know your question was rhetorical but lately, I muse on the laundry I no longer have to do, and the dome on the roof of the palace. What purpose did it serve besides keeping the weather out? Any roof will do for that, so why a dome? I was never taught that Lord Girion was a tyrant, so why have a building to dominate a city that was actually ruled by Erebor?_  
_Da and the city council still are not agreed about the palace, I think . . . I will enclose the plans for you to see. If you can help, please do. If not, send them back to me so I don't get in trouble._  
  
***  
  
_Sigrid,_  
_I have the plans and will return them with my next letter. Kili, Tauriel, and I spent many hours looking over them, and I even showed them to Ori. None of us can see where or why there is a bone of contention. Please explain everyone's objections. To our neutral eyes, all looks well; well planned, sturdy, comfortable._  
_Tauriel likes the number of windows, meaning light will be abundant. She also likes the fact that there are several potential entertainment spaces. The various courtyards, stables, and out buildings will keep many employed, as they are really outdoor rooms. Even the staff wing is cozy, and not so far away from the family as to be a torment. Ori was pleased to see two libraries and a dozen offices._  
_If building this is a matter of lack of manpower or expertise, have Bard write formally to me or Balin, requesting help, and we will happily give it._  
  
_Fili_  
  
***  
  
_I took a few days, and carefully posed your questions to Da. Slowly, I am beginning to understand, and I am annoyed that I did not see it before. It is not so much the building as the mental weight it carries. That is what he is objecting to. The building is fine, though we could use some help getting it built._  
_What the council wants, once the palace is complete, is a full, formal coronation. Da is reluctant to be king in name, but a coronation would be permanently formalizing, and he still as yet, unwilling. So, he delays the building, and puts off his crowning by one more day._  
_When I realized this, I cried. I love my father, and have always done what I can to ease his mind, but at this moment, I am impotent. He needs a wife to offer comfort and council, not a half-grown daughter._  
_I cannot help him, save to push on. I will send the letter to Erebor myself._  
  
***

    The debates on whether or not to offer help to the Dale Men with the rebuilding of the palace went on for days, and Fili quickly grew weary of hearing the same arguments hashed and rehashed in different words. Some were for it, after all, Dale was still a client kingdom, but many more were against it. What had the Men done lately but beg for help? How long should their neediness be indulged?  
    Kili, Balin, and Fili all argued for offering help, but were shouted down. Kili grew quiet, watching the room, looking for any sign of wavering convictions. He would then pull that person aside, and work on changing their minds in private. Fili soon tuned out and started another letter to Sigrid instead.

    _Do you know what the worst part of politics is? The arguing. The endless, circular arguing. Thorin just sits, with calm equanimity, listening and yet also allowing it all to just flow over him without seeming to absorb any of it. Then, he leaves, and when he returns, he makes a pronouncement that often, while smart, totally discounts everything he was just forced to sit through._  
_So why do they argue when ultimately, the final choice is with Thorin, and he doesn’t really have to take anything they say to heart, and they don’t balk when he does as he chooses. It all seems very odd to me._  
_If I ever become king, I would like to think that I would surround myself with advisers who actually advise, but even as I write this, the ring of hubris is pealing behind my head. I must choose my councilors with care, and I will try to take their words in mind. Of course, if I can’t stand them, I would like to think I could dismiss them, and replace them with more amenable advisers . . . And there go the hubris bells again._  
_Does Bard get along with his advisers or do they fight to no satisfactory end as well? Some days, my dear Sigrid, I think maybe I don’t want to be king. Who could I find to captivate my uncle so thoroughly that he will want to marry, and do so straight away._  
_But, then I come back to earth. Uncle is many things, but a romantic is not one of them. That's Kili’s job. And to some degree, mine. And now I am treading the fine line between prudence and good taste, so I will take a step back to more neutral ground . . ._

_\--Yours, Fili_

***

  
_Politics, in all its forms, can be frightfully contentious. Everyone has an opinion, and wants to be heard, even if they are not. I honestly believe that the attitude of the king will strongly determine the comportment of his nobles and advisers. Da has, for the most part, a fairly quiet personality, and while council meetings can and often do become contentious, there is very little yelling, and few raised voices. Da won’t countenance such behaviour from adults. But obviously, Thorin has no issue with it, and so it goes on. When your turn comes, if you let it be known that barnyard behavious belong outdoors, then you will not have to deal with the same problems . . ._

***


	3. Chapter the Third

Year Two:   
  
   “So, Fili, when is it?”   
    Fili had been reading his latest letter from Sigrid over his lunch break. Beside him, Kili and the other young men that were working on the last of the wall construction on the Raven Hill guard tower, laughed. Fili looked up, clearly confused, which made the others laugh even harder.   
   “What?” Fili asked. “Are you talking to me?”   
   The dwarrow nodded. “Yes. When is it?”   
   “When is what?” Fili tried to keep his tone light, but he was really annoyed by the interruption. Sigrid was ranting about a dinner she had been forced to attend, and he was finding her observations on her fellow diners rather diverting.   
    “The wedding,” the dwarrow said. “Between you and those letters. You hold onto them like a lover, so I figure the Big Day must be coming up soon.”   
    Fili laughed, and slipped the letter into his pocket. “My correspondent is an amusing storyteller.” Fili finished his sandwich, and the others laughed again.   
   “It's a girl,” someone called. “I just hope to Mahal her beard is longer than Kili's.”   
   Even Kili laughed at that, knowing full well who was writing to his brother. He knew Lady Sigrid's handwriting by now as well as he knew his own, and anyone in his family.   
   “Not a chance,” Kili said cheerfully. “Besides, no-one cares that my wife doesn't have a beard.”   
   “Nope,” Fili began gathering up his trash. “That's because her balls are bigger than yours, so there is a balance.”   
   This was greeted with much hooting and cat calling, and Kili just shook his head.   
    “I'll tell them,” he told Fili in a low voice. Fili poked his brother.   
    “Do it and you're dead,” Fili hissed. “Her reputation is on the line! Don't even joke about it.”   
    Kili nodded, slightly startled by Fili's vehemence. “Alright.” He turned to their fellows. “Hey, what if we have dinner in Dale tonight? I know they've got some great little pubs.”   
    “Kili!” Fili hissed, as the rest considered the offer.   
    “What?” Kili looked at his brother. “It's not a bad idea.”   
    “No,” Fili agreed. “But leaving Tauriel to have dinner alone with Thorin is asking for one of them to not be alive when we return.”   
     This was greeted with more laughter. “Bring her along! The elf can hold her liquor, and she's not above drinking with us; she's done it before.”   
     Kili frowned. “How do you know? When have you gone drinking with my wife?”   
    The others moved back slightly, leaving the two dwarrow facing off. “I'm one of the Princess's Archers. Sometimes, she comes out with us for a pint after practice.”   
   Kili nodded, slightly appeased. “Well, I suppose that's alright then. Let's get back to work.”   
    Fili shook his head and followed his brother back up the scaffolding to finish patching the wall.   
  
***   
  
_. . . I had the strangest dream last night. It took me forever to get to sleep to begin with, since Tilda has decided to be difficult, now that Lady Finna is leaving us. I told you in my last letter that she is getting married, and Tilda is not at all pleased. Which I really do not understand; she and Lady Finna fight and argue like two grown men. Either way, I told Da that it might be best that another governess not be engaged._  
 _But I digress. My odd dream._  
 _I was sitting in a long, high room. I felt totally at home, but at the same time, I felt as if I should not be there. I knew I wasn't alone, but I couldn't see anyone around me. There was something heavy in my lap, but I couldn't see what it was either. It was all very confusing, and I forced myself to wake up. I really should stop eating before I go to bed._  
 _Da is having another dinner party tomorrow, and I am really not looking forward to it. It is a working dinner, they all are, and Da uses them to teach Bain, but Tilda and I are bored out of our minds! I cannot think what she or I are supposed to be getting out of these dinners; we neither of us will ever be in a position where we need to know that the price of grain is down 10% . . ._  
  
***   
  
_. . . Sigrid, you never know what random fact may actually come in handy at a dinner party. And as the daughter of a king, everything about ruling, including the price of grain, is supposed to interest you, even if only slightly._  
 _I am sure that Lady Finna will be very happy in her choice, and Tilda will eventually get over it, assuming that Lady Finna isn't moving too far away._  
 _Kili and I are still going to council meetings with Thorin, and truth be told, they are boring. Most of the councilors are still steamed that Kili and Tauriel are married, they are upset about Mother and King Thranduil, and about poor little Mali. She's two years old! I know that Men are walking and sort of talking at that age, Elves are talking too, but for dwarrow, you're still learning to say 'no.' To listen to them ranting on about her, you would think that Mali is dictating policy and procedure from her crib!_  
 _I am also starting to notice that more and more of the council members are making broad mention of the fact that they have a niece or a granddaughter that will be coming of age soon. I can't tell if this is for Thorin's benefit or mine. If it is for my uncle, (my most likely guess), then they are wasting their time. Though, I cannot say that I would regret having a cousin to take my place . . ._   
  
***   
  
    Tauriel lay back on the grass, crossing her arms behind her head. Summer was by far her favorite time of year, and coming outside with her husband and brother-in-law for an impromptu picnic was the best way to enjoy it. Fili was writing another letter, and Kili was settling his head on her lap. She absently reached down to play with the ends of his hair, and Kili smiled at her.   
   “I love you,” he told her quietly. Tauriel let her eyes drift shut and listen to the birds moving about in the tree above them. Fili's pen paused for a moment, as he took out a second sheet of paper, then continued it's steady scratching across the page.   
    _'Goodness,'_ Tauriel thought. _'Two sheets this time. I wonder what is bothering him so much.'_   
    “We could just go and visit them,” Kili said, breaking the silence, and startling his brother.   
   “What?” Fili asked.   
   “We could go to Dale, and visit with Bard and his family in person, and you can talk to the young lady. It would save you both the time and the paper.”   
Fili scoffed and returned to his letter. “We have already agreed that this is the best way. Much more can be said freely if one is not face to face.”   
   Tauriel nodded and opened her eyes. “When you are finished, let's go play croquet.”   
   Kili sat up, and grinned at his wife. “It's a nice thought, but we don't have enough for a team.”   
   “We can play individually,” Fili said, his pen never slowing. “Or we can go play golf.”   
   Tauriel groaned. She wasn't very good at the game, and the fact that she could not seem to understand it was an endless source of amusement for the brothers.   
   “Let's not and say we did,” she begged. Fili shrugged.   
    “As you wish.” He sat up, folded the letter and slipped it into his bag. “Shall we be off, then?”   
  
***   
  
_Hail, Fili, son of Dís, Crown Prince of Erebor._  
 _So, how do you like that for a greeting? Tilda’s new governess, Lady Oswin, saw me writing another letter a few days ago and had the gall to come up to me and tell me my address was far too casual, my handwriting is appalling, and that my prose are at best Juvenile and unformed._  
 _I wanted to smack her, but before I could, Tilda, who was sitting near by, practicing her music, looked up, and told Lady Oswin that it is appalling that she should be reading another's letter over their shoulder, and that her services are no longer required. Lady Oswin flounced out in a huff, and Tilda ran off to relate the entire tale to Da. Needless to say, Lady Oswin is now a thing of the past, and Tilda is once again, without a governess._  
 _I did tell Da to not try and replace them after Lady Finna left, but he would do it. Oh well. She still gets on with her various Masters, and I daresay she improves daily at the harp._  
 _Bain, when he is older, is to be taken on a tour of Middle-earth; this side of it, at any rate. Da will send Bain to Rivendell, the Iron Hills, Mirkwood, and likely Erebor for a while, to live, and learn more about the people. I wish I could go on a tour like that. I’d have loads of fun. The details Da will have to work out, but I doubt anyone will turn him down. Although Da is touting this as educational, it is mostly also diplomatic._  
 _I'm not sure Da has informed Bain about this yet, and I hope he holds off until everything is settled. Aside from my endless correspondence, directing the staff, and entertaining Tilda, and being a sounding board for Da, I have been trying to come up with a hobby. I don’t have one, and I have so few outlets. I do like reading, sewing can be relaxing if it is not mandatory, knitting is soothing, if a bit dull, and riding requires fine weather. Help me settle on something. I am quite out of ideas._  
  
_Later:_  
  
_Sorry for the ink blot. I was interrupted by a servant, and it so startled me my pen dripped. I am already two pages in, and refuse to start again. Anyway, it seems there was someone at the door, collecting for charity, and the butler wasn’t sure whether to send the man away, or give him something. I went to talk to him and recognized one of our old neighbors from Laketown._  
 _I instantly invited him in to take tea, and we had a lovely cose for a good half-hour. He left with a basket of clothes, some food, and a standing invitation to return. It seems the effects of Smaug’s Rampage are still being felt._  
 _This former neighbor has taken it upon himself to house and feed the Left Behind orphans. I know, I know, it could all be a scam, which is why Da and I will be paying an unscheduled visit shortly to reassure ourselves._  
 _Oh! I just recalled: Tilda and I both got some new dresses. She chose some very elvish looking gowns (no surprise there), in muted reds, greens, and a very lovely gray velvet, and a blue silk I’d steal for myself if I was just a bit shorter. I got a blue and white striped house dress that is still nice enough to receive visitors in, a pale yellow walking dress, and a blue velvet evening dress. I honestly think having so many dresses is silly, since I’m conditioned to get by with one dress, but delightfully adaptable Tilda loves it, and I like seeing her happy._  
 _Sorry for all the rambling about clothes, but I have to tell someone, and Bain just rolls his eyes at me. You might also, but I can’t see it, so it doesn’t count._  
  
_Yours, Sigrid._  
  
***

  
 _Hail and well met._  
  
_I don’t mind hearing about your new clothes. Besides Tauriel, who is very nearly a second brother, I have no sisters of age, so all of this topic is refreshingly new to me. It sounds as if you and Miss Tilda made some lovely selections, and I may have to persuade Uncle to host a party here, so that I may see them for myself._  
 _Kili and Tauriel are much the same as ever. Uncle is still working hard, training me to be king. There’s so much more to this job than I ever knew, and so many people I have to listen to, opinions I must consider, and yet, the final judgments are to be mine alone. I cannot see how anyone can do this job alone. I can see now why most kings marry; trying to do a job like this, with no one on your side that doesn’t have an agenda of some sort, would be the impossible task. Yet, I know Thorin will never marry. He is also steadfastly refusing to answer Balin on when and where he wishes to be crowned, which is driving poor Balin to distraction._  
 _Kili, Tauriel, and I often go riding ourselves, and I much enjoyed watching our home come back together. The main building is long ago finished, though repairs are forever popping up in the city proper, as new families arrive daily. Homes must be found for them. This means that structural repair teams and etcetera must be dispatched allover, leaving the interior of the palace as yet undone._  
 _I miss the sun, the wind, feeling rain, and seeing the snow. I miss seeing the grass and open fields. I want to be outdoors again, but all this seems so foreign to Thorin, despite his years lived on the road. I suppose if I ever have children, they will view the out-of-doors the same way as Thorin does, but for now, I need air._   
_But that topic is maudlin, and I wanted to share upbeat tidings. Ah! Wait, I forgot! Thorin has offered a stipend to any dwarrow-dam, if she has a baby, for the duration of her confinement, and the first 6 weeks after the baby comes. Most of the men on the council were appalled at the very thought, but Thorin made the declaration anyway. I was in the market afterwards, and I heard two dams discussing the matter. They agreed it is a generous offer, but that few will take it up, as it is impossible to find decent husbands in these parts. I suppose I don’t count, and I can’t tell if I’m amused or insulted._  
 _Tauriel was trying to arrange for a musical evening, to allow the young and unattached a chance to meet and socialize a bit, but Thorin keeps resisting. He doesn’t seem to want us to have any fun at all. I’ll be on guard duty at Ravenhill for the next two weeks, so there may be a delay in my letters._  
  
_Your friend, Fili._

***   
  
  _I love seeing the outline of Raven Hill from my windows. It looks so menacing, yet secure from this distance. My least favorite part is the walkway over the waterfall. Azog died there, and I can’t help feeling that the place is cursed. Not to put you off, but that is how I feel._  
 _I know that you and Kili are there for weeks at a time for guard duty, and I cannot help but worry for you . . ._  
 _Be safe . . ._   
  
***   
  
_I have been talking with Kili for months, and with Balin and Ori too, about an idea I have. I’ve even written to your father, but he has yet to reply. I want some of the people of Erebor to become farmers. Living in Ered Luin, Kili and I grew up working as smiths, farm hands, and guards. I know full well that farming is a huge commitment of time, energy, and resources, but I think –no, I know that Erebor will benefit in the long run._  
 _If we work alongside Dale, and while it will temporarily lessen some of our imports from Mirkwood, in the long-term, I believe that all three kingdoms will benefit. We will have a surplus to export, and as long as we are, each kingdom, growing different crops, and rotating them every other year, we can create a thriving trade among ourselves, and with the wider North, with the Iron Hills, and perhaps even the Grey Mountains._  
 _I have not yet spoken to Thorin about this though. I have asked Balin to do this in my stead, because I know he will instantly disagree with me, and refuse. But I know I am to be king here one day, and I want to have – nay, I demand, a thriving, healthy kingdom to rule._  
 _I don’t think that is too much to ask._  
 _I wish I had the words to use to bring this idea to Thorin myself, but I fear he will reject it out right without giving it more than a cursory hearing._  
 _Do not misread me: I love my uncle. He is the only father I have known for the majority of my life, but there are times I despair of him. He lives too much in the past._  
 _Perhaps if he were to marry . . . ._  
  
****   
  
_Da did mention to me that you had written about the farm project, and I have urged him to hear you out. Even if you were not my dearest friend, I would still have encouraged such a sound, well phrased plan. He read me your letter, and I must say, I am quite impressed with your ability to change tone, and be so formal, yet persuasive. Did I not know you better, I might have been convinced you are a man of high education . . ._   
  
***   
  
_My dearest Sigrid, you praise me with one stroke, and wreck it all with the next. Never be so cruel as to ever again accuse one such as myself of harbouring an education!_   
  
   Fili smirked and set his pen aside for a moment. He loved bantering this way with Sigrid. She was so free with her words, and eloquent, and happy. He knew she thought her letters and little notes were just reflections on a dull life, but for him, they were the windows of her personality, and everything she did, from laundry to choosing menus, held some fascination.   
    He picked up her last letter again, dated three days before.   
  
_Da informed me this morning that we are to have overnight guests by the end of the week, and I am wracking my brain with frustration. I have not had a moment to prepare the guest room (yes room, we only have the one, unless I move Tilda in with me) and the supplies I was hoping for this week have not yet arrived from Laketown, so I am fresh out of ideas and anything that will make a decent, showy meal._  
 _I will just have to pray the supplies arrive before our guests (Holy Valar I hope its no more than two), and that I can have the rooms readied in time. I must fly._  
  
_Siggy_

***


	4. Chapter the Fourth

_My dearest, darling, loveliest, most faithful, loyal, and wonderful Fili,_  
  
_If I could reach you now, I would kiss you! I wasn't begging in my last letter, but your response was timely, and needed. Our guest (yes, just one) was a rather handsome, and boring young man from Gondor called Haldoron, and he is on a diplomatic mission to survey the North. I had no idea the Steward was interested in us, being so very far away, but Da tells me that much of this land was once on the borders of Gondor, and so we were and are important allies with the capital._  
 _Either way, Haldoron was weary when he arrived, but appeared much cheered by the sight of a clean, but modest bed, good company, and better food._  
 _Da knows that I have been much consumed with what I was going to serve our guest, and I know he was quite suspicious when my mood suddenly improved (by the way, thank Kili and Lady Tauriel for me. To find a deer this late in the year is a miracle indeed), but I told him all was well._  
 _The vegetables from my garden, and a bit of creative cooking helped to make Haldoron’s visit a complete success. I managed to gather enough people for a musical evening while he was here, and a night of cards, but I left him to his own devices with Da during the day. I hope he wasn’t bored._  
 _He did ask me to walk in the garden with him a couple of times while he was here, but I only agreed the day before he was to leave. Do not misunderstand, he was never anything less than a perfect gentleman, but I am so tired of forever being pursued. I know in my heart that I must marry some day, and . . . I hope that when that time arrives . . . it will be for my own happiness. My mind is quite made up on the matter; I will only be wife to the one I love._  
 _After he went, Da summoned me into his office, and asked if Haldoron had spoken to me. I confessed that he had, and I told Da I declined him, in the most gentle way I could manage. Da just sighed, nodded, and gave me a hug, then congratulated me on my smuggling connections, to find all the food we needed, as the supplies from Laketown had finally arrived that morning, just after Halderon had departed . . ._  
 _Da also wants another cask of the wine you sent if you can manage it . . ._   
  
***   
  
   “Balin, have you talked to him yet?” Fili asked, stopping the old retainer in the hall, just outside the council room doors. Balin shook his head and sighed.   
   “I am sorry, Fili. I have tried bringing it up a few times, but he is much focused on other matters. I would advise you to take Kili and Ori, go and see King Bard in person, and just go ahead with it. There is nothing to be lost by forging ahead, and with some tangible success to show, you’ll have a better time securing his permission.”   
   Fili sighed. “It feels so dishonest,” he muttered. Balin shook his head again.   
   “Not a bit. There is such a thing as loyal opposition. Were you listening to nothing I taught you?”   
   Fili smiled slightly, and patted Balin on the back. “Very well. I will propose going to Laketown, with a courtesy stop in Dale at this meeting.”   
   Ori ran up, slightly out of breath and juggling an armful of paperwork. He bowed to Fili, and nearly lost the top part of the stack.   
  “Sire,” he greeted. Fili huffed and scooped half of the stack out of Ori’s arms.   
  “Fili,” he corrected the younger dwarf for the thousandth time. “Let’s go in.”   
  
***   
  
   Thorin looked at his nephew in surprise. “And how do you know about this delay from Laketown?”   
   “We were expecting them over a week ago, Uncle, and word from Dale is the shipments have only just arrived. I want to head down there, and see what the delay is about before the traders depart again. Perhaps it is the state of the docks, a lack of manpower, the state of the roads. We must find out, and offer what remedy we can. The Dale Men can’t survive for weeks and weeks on end without supplies.”   
  Balin agreed with Fili, and so did a few others, and Kili gave his brother a curious look. Thorin finally nodded, and Fili looked pleased.   
   “Kili should accompany me since he has been working the most on the building situation in Laketown.”   
   Kili sighed, and nodded. “I haven't filed any reports of late because there is little of import to report, but I would like to see what’s going on down there myself. Ori should go along as well. We will need him to take notes and such. Plus, there is safety in numbers.”   
  Thorin nodded, ready to move on from the topic. “Take the elf with you,” he said off handedly, and moved on to the next issue. Kili and Fili exchanged irritated glances at their uncle's attitude, then Fili began making notes on what he needed to say to Bard when he saw him.   
  
***   
  
_I am sorry to have missed you, my friend. Bard said you and Miss Tilda were out shopping when Kili and I got to the house, and my meeting with your father only lasted a few hours. He was quite open to it, and is ready to begin whenever I give the word. I never thought I would be so excited about the prospect of farming . . ._   
  
***   
  
_. . . The timing of our outing was poor indeed, and I am sorry to have missed you. Tilda was not pleased either, but I blame her; she is the one who wanted a new pair of gloves, then took the whole afternoon to settle on a pair . . ._  
 _Da told me after dinner that he rather enjoyed the little card party I was able to get together while Halderon was here, and he gently encouraged me to host a few more in the future. I know it is my Duty as First Lady of Dale to set the social conventions, but it is so outside my realm of knowledge that I am lost._  
 _I must find a Lady of Good Standing to consult on the matter . . ._   
  
***   
  
Year Three:   
  
_You would not believe it, but I have received yet another, in my opinion, impertinent marriage proposal. It began thusly:_  
  
'To Lady Sigrid, First Lady of Dale, on behalf of King Thengel of Rohan.   
Your Highness, in an effort to strengthen the alliance with our eastern Cousins, King Thengel proposes a union between your highness and his son, Prince Théoden--'   
_I got no further, but the note made it's merry way into the fire. Prince Théoden is six months old! I have already raised my siblings. The very last thing I am going to do in this world is raise my husband as well!_  
 _They cannot be serious. The baby would be a better match for Tilda, in that she, at least, is closer to him in age. Still, I can see that twelve years apart may be a bit insurmountable as they get older. Poor Tilda, having to wait until she is 30 to marry an 18 year old . . ._  
 _Well, things are much the same as ever here, though Da lets Tilda and me go riding on our own now. That is fun, and we look forward to it every day the weather is fine. We were to go to Mirkwood for Yule, but Da changed his mind at the last moment, so we spent the holidays at home . . . Now that I have been some little bit in the World, I do miss it when we do not socialize . . . I think I will have a small tea party or something when the weather improves. I need the practice, and so does Tilda . . . Bain improves daily with the sword . . ._   
  
***   
  
_My Friend, Hail and Well Met._  
  
_Durin's Mighty Beard, but you would not believe the kerfuffle going on today between my sister, Tauriel, and Uncle Thorin! Thorin wants to have yet another tiresome ball, and Tauriel pointed out that the last time we tried such a thing, it did not come off. Thorin wanted only the very best people to be there, when Tauriel wanted it open to all, and so at logger heads, nothing happened._  
 _Thorin, of course, took her words as an insult, and began scolding Tauriel in Khuzdul. So, of course, Kili jumped in to defend his wife, and she told Thorin that she would happily leave the household management fully in his capable hands._  
 _'There is a three bedroom cottage in Dale that is vacant at the moment. Fili, Kili, and I will go and live there,' she told him._  
 _Now, I really did not want to be dragged into this, but that really does not sound too bad. Kili, of course, agreed immediately, and said he would just send back for his things. And Uncle called Tauriel a tree shagger._  
 _To her face. In the common tongue._  
 _I am hiding in my room right now, while Balin and Dwalin try to get him to apologize, and Kili tries to talk Tauriel out of making me the king sooner than need be._  
  
_Later:_  
  
_So Thorin finally apologized, but Tauriel is still furious, and dinner was entirely green, leafy vegetables. I HATE GREENS!_  
 _But, I think she made her point . . ._   
  
***

  
_Goodness! There is never a dull moment under the mountain, is there? So, I assume this means the assembly is off, and you and everyone can come to my tea party?_  
  
_Later:_  
  
_Or perhaps not. It seems that Da has to go to Rivendell for some sort of meeting, so I will have to postpone my plans. I am to be left in charge while he is away._  
 _The more things change . . ._  
  
_Later still:_   
  
_Fili:_  
 _It is very late as I write this to you, but for some reason, I cannot sleep. For once, I am glad that Tilda and I sleep apart now, with doors between us instead of just threadbare curtains. Now, when I can’t sleep, I bother no-one but myself with my restlessness. And you, I suppose, assuming I bother to send this off at all._  
 _Lately, I keep thinking about our old life, when Da was constantly away for work, and I had to mind Tilda and Bain, and the house. Now, Da is home all the time for work, and I still have to mind Tilda and Bain, but there seem to be a thousand and one things to do in the house that I've never encountered. I've never had servants before, not even a young girl in to help with the washing or the cooking. It was only me and Mama before Bain was born, and after she died, Da did what he could to help me until Tilda was old enough to help. Now, I have to tell people older than myself what to do, but then only certain ones can only do certain things, and it’s a bit frustrating._  
 _I thought that I would have more time now, what with having a dozen people doing the jobs I used to do alone, but I feel like I have even less time, if such a thing is even possible._  
 _You know what, I think I might be able to sleep now. Good night, my friend._   
  
***   
  
_Dear Fili,_  
 _Construction on the new palace continues a pace, even with Da away. I'd like to say Da is looking forward to it being finished, but I have been taught not to lie. I have managed to host a few small gatherings, and at each, I find myself looking long and hard at the ladies in the company. Not for Bain, he is too yet unformed to wed, but for Da. I keep hoping I will see someone he will like, but no-one has seemed suitable._  
 _It is almost a pity that Lady Dís settled on King Thranduil. She would do very well for Da, though I cannot say that I would like to have you as my brother . . ._   
  
***   
  
_Sigrid,_  
 _I would like to be shocked by your idea, but a few Men I have known have been happily married to dwarrow-dams, though Thorin always railed against it._  
 _But all this talk brings me back to alliances. Thankfully, Thorin has not made mention of my marrying in quite some time. I hope that means he has found his own interests and will leave me to mine . . ._   
  
*** 


	5. Chapter the Fifth

Year Four:   
  
    “Fili, something must be done. You have spent more than four years evading the question of your marriage. Really, I had not given it much thought myself, until Bard sent out the invitations to his daughter's ball. There is still work to be done on the New Palace, but he feels that she is ready to be married, and he doesn’t want to wait. I'm sure he is, I'm sure, hoping to at least secure an alliance with Rohan or, better yet, Gondor. He asked me if we could help by hosting the ball here, and I agreed."   
    Fili's face went white at the news, and he looked at his younger brother in alarm. Kili locked eyes with his brother for a second, then looked away. Fili took a long breath, and let it out slowly.   
   "And when is Lady Sigrid being put up for sale?"   
   "Fili!" Tauriel shook her head in disapproval. "Don't say that! You know Men do not live as long as we do, and they must marry far sooner than we might think is appropriate."   
   Fili flushed and dropped his eyes to the table for a moment, then shook his head. "That is not what I meant, but never mind that. What does Lady Sigrid's potential marriage have to do with me, and Tauriel's ability to set the palace to rights, after it was left to rot for two centuries?"   
   Thorin frowned slightly at the abrupt topic shift. "I mention it, to say that it is also time for you to seriously consider your future as well. You need an heir. I know that Kili can succeed you--"   
   "And his sons after him," Fili added deliberately, knowing that always irked Thorin.   
   "But, such things should not be left to chance," Thorin continued resolutely, refusing to rise to the bait. "I am not a good example to follow in this instance." He caught the look his nephews shared, and gave them a sad half smile.   
   "I was to be married, Grandfather had arranged it. As the eldest, I was expected to make the most advantageous match. My fiancée was of a younger branch of the family; several generations removed, of course, but still in the Durin line. Frerin was going to remain single, and . . " he paused. "Grandfather was trying to get Thranduil to agree to a match between . . . your mother . . . and . . . Legolas." Everyone laughed at that.   
   "Either way, " Thorin continued. "We must look to your future, and that means finding a bride."   
   "And if I said I wanted to wed Lady Sigrid?" Fili asked, slowly. Thorin chuckled, but quickly sobered when no-one else joined him.   
   "You cannot be serious," Thorin said with a frown. "She is a daughter of Men. Their lives are nothing compared to ours. She will die before she would be able to provide you with an heir. Even if she could, there is little chance that such a child will be accepted as the rightful Heir to the throne of Durin. The last thing this family needs is more half-blooded princes," Thorin glared pointedly at Tauriel as he said this last. She didn't notice, having become somewhat inured to Thorin's jibes.   
   "Our people would accept any son of mine," Fili growled. "That was born of my lawful wife and queen; whomsoever she may be."   
Thorin sighed deeply. "Why can no-one in this family be content to seek happiness within their own Race?"   
   "We are all Eru's Children," Tauriel said softly. "And we are quite capable of seeking our own happiness, wherever it may be."   
   "Indeed," Fili agreed tartly. "And if our choices are really so irksome, then I suggest that this ball be for your benefit, rather than mine. If you marry and have your own son to raise in captivity, then I am free to marry Lady Sigrid, and it won't matter, at all."   
   Thorin was shocked by his normally restrained nephew's bitter tone, and frowned at being told for the third time, by someone close to him, that he needed to stop complaining and find a wife if he didn't like their choice. The remainder of the meal passed in a stiff, uncomfortable silence.   
   When the table was cleared, Tauriel ordered tea to be served in her sitting room, and the four of them retired to that more private space, to discuss some ongoing repairs in the palace. New problems were forever being discovered, and Fili already had the building plans laid out on a table when they arrived. The group spent several hours going over with Thorin what the builders said needed doing. The main concern was the East Wing guest quarter. The builders were inclined to err on the side of caution, and suggested a total back-fill, but at first, Thorin was not keen on calling it a total loss, but he had to admit that Tauriel and his nephews did indeed have their work cut out for them.   
   He had put Fili and Kili in charge of overseeing the remaining palace repairs, since he was so overwhelmed with his other duties, and it was a great opportunity for them to be in a position to make critical decisions, that would, in turn, help them become leaders the people would respect, and want to follow when it was their turn to rule.   
   Tauriel had not exaggerated the amount of time she would need, and by the time they were finished, he was beginning to think she'd actually been estimating low. He sighed, seeing his long nursed plans for a summer of parties, balls, assemblies, and perhaps, a winter wedding for Fili, slipping away.   
    Fili was actually enjoying Thorin's frustration with the scope of the work that still needed doing, since it would mean a substantial delay in Thorin's plans. Delay meant more time for him to arrange to speak with Bard, and see what might be done to get his mother, Queen Dís, and perhaps even his step-father, King Thranduil of Mirkwood, to offer him their support. And, he needed time to speak to the lady in question.   
    Over the course of the four years the Fili and Sigrid had been exchanging letters, Fili had fallen deeply in love with the human girl. He got to see her heart, learn her mind; Sigrid shared things on paper with Fili that she might not have ever told him if they had the chance to meet and socialize much in person, but she felt some freedom in the notion that they would not meet often, and then only on the most formal of occasions, so she wrote freely.   
    Fili, in his turn, shared his insecurities about his impending kingship, the envy he felt and did not want over Kili and Tauriel's happiness, and his frustration in dealing with Thorin and his own, daily mounting responsibilities. Waiting for Sigrid's sometimes twice weekly letters was the highlight of his day, and Kili, was happy to take over whatever job his brother was doing when the mail was delivered, because Fili was of no use to anyone until he had a chance to at least glance over what she sent him. At first, it wasn't so bad, but Kili knew his brother well enough to know that he was falling for the Lady of Dale, and falling hard.   
   Now, Thorin sighed, and sat back in his chair, reaching absently for his tea cup on the table beside him.   
   "Assuming the engineer is correct, and that wing is indeed a total loss, what are my other options?"   
   Fili gave his uncle a falsely bright smile, and looked expectantly at Tauriel.   
   "We would then be looking at least five years for a new wing to be excavated. A minimum, of five years. In the mean time, I would suggest the building of a very large inn between Erebor and Dale, to house our guest in style and comfort, while providing an income to the unaffiliated young Men of Dale, and to the Dwarrow who have found that they prefer the out of doors after all. The needs of the inn will, in turn, increase trade between Mirkwood, Esgaroth, and Dale, creating more jobs for traders, merchants, and weary travelers to parts further east, towards _Urâd Zirnul_ \--- um . . . The Iron Hills."   
   Thorin glared at Kili, clearly about to scold him for teaching his wife a Khuzdul word or two, but Tauriel just laughed.   
  "Thorin, I know you never bothered to find out, but I'm almost 1,000 years old. You aren't the first dwarves I've ever met."   
   Thorin stared at her. "No, you're not," he said finally.   
She nodded. "I am, indeed. Legolas is almost 2,500 years old, and Ada is nearly 7,000. Give or take a century."   
   Thorin positively stared. "You mean to tell me that stuck-up ass-hat has been alive for seven thousand years?!"   
   Tauriel nodded. "And may live another seven more if he has a mind to. We're immortal, remember?"   
   Thorin shook his head, awed and annoyed at the same time. "Seven thousand years," he muttered. "That is really not fair. So," he asked loudly. "I can probably assume he's been an asshole from day one?"   
   Tauriel smirked. "No, before that. He was born before Lady Arien and Lord Tilion were set to Sail. By Day One, I'm sure his personality was quite already set."   
   Fili and Kili laughed, and Thorin saluted her with his cup. "So, how long would this inn take to be up and running?"   
   "Four months for construction, fully operational in five. Anyone working there can be trained here or in Dale while the building is underway."   
   Thorin nodded. "That still only covers housing our guests."   
   Kili shook his head. "Oh, no. There will be reception rooms in the inn, which can be hired when we don't need them. We could make a tidy profit on monthly public assemblies alone. They have nothing like it in Dale or Esgaroth, and anyone traveling up from Laketown will be obliged to stay at minimum one night, because of the distance."   
   Thorin looked thoughtful and Tauriel suppressed a sigh. She would never understand the dwarves obsession with money, not even if she lived to be as old as Thranduil, or even the Lady Galadriel.   
   "Four months to build? " Thorin asked, and Tauriel nodded. He was quiet for several minutes, then nodded once. "I will write to Bard tonight, and tell him that his daughter's Coming Out shall be the Inaugural celebration in our new Grand Lady."   
   "We're not calling it that!" Tauriel called after him as he left.   
  
***   
  
    Fili declined to join his brother for their nightly smoke on the balcony, electing instead to go for a walk. His feet took him north, towards the Raven Hill sentry fort. The guards on duty, who lived and worked in the fort in two week shifts, called greetings to the crown prince, and questions about when he and his brother would be on duty again. Fili stopped to talk with the guards for a few minutes, and assured them that he and Kili were not shirking their obligations, and would be joining them again soon enough.   
   When he was finally able to get away, Fili wandered further up the hill, finally stopping near the summit, and sat down when he could see the lights of Dale. He withdrew his pipe and cleaned it slowly, before lighting it. Four months. His happiness now came with a deadline. And knowing Thorin, Fili was sure his every move would be closely watched, in case he should be tempted to interfere with Bard's plans for his daughter. He sighed, and pulled the wallet he carried with some of Sigrid's most recent letters, from an inner pocket. He withdrew her latest missive, dated but two days before.   
  
    _My friend,_  
 _I find myself waiting daily for the arrival of the letters with almost childish impatience. I know in my mind that you cannot possibly be able to read and send a real response to my letter in less than a day, when I myself spent two writing it. That said, I am well pleased that you got back to me within the same week, meaning our letters crossed in the post._  
 _Oh, well; it is what it is. But, since I cannot now reference anything in my last letter, or indeed, yours, I must search for a new topic to wear thin while we wait for our letters to get sorted._  
 _Let's see: Bain is growing at a tremendous rate! The maids and I have already let out his newest shirts twice. There is no where else for the fabric to go, so I took them for the poor box. He will have some more by the week's end._  
 _Let me think, what else can I bore you with? Tilda was in my wardrobe this morning again, trying on dresses. I cannot believe that my baby sister is going to be 12 soon! She asked me if I thought she was ready for full skirts yet, which of course, I told her no!_  
 _My baby siblings are turning into women and men before my eyes, and I'm proud of them, and I feel really old in the same moment. I have been Tilda's mother all her life, but she is not my child._  
 _Oh, Fili, I'm sorry for going sappy on you, but I really do not want to accept the changes my very eyes cannot deny._   
  
   Fili smiled slightly, and refilled his pipe. He wished he could be with Sigrid when she was having those moments; put his arms around her, and let her know that everything would be alright. Her siblings would grow up, but they weren't going to leave her.   
  
  _Da has been giving me some odd looks lately. I think he's having the same realizations as I am, only, of course, in triplicate. I worry a bit, because I am quite sure the next time he asks to speak to me, it will be to tell me that he has found some fresh faced youth, of good family, that he thinks I need to marry. I would like to hope Da has enough respect for me not to force it on me, but I know girls are not much more than a bargaining chip in the real world. We get sold, like cattle, or cheese. It matters little who the buyer is, as long as he can afford it, and promises to beat you only slightly once you are with child, on days ending in 'y.'_  
 _I'm sorry, that sounded bitter of me, and I wanted this to be a happy, gossipy sort of note._  
 _Fili, what are dwarrow-dams like? Your mother is quite a formidable woman, and I really rather like her, but I cannot help wondering if she is the exception or the rule._  
 _You will laugh at me, but after I met Lady Dís, I actively began to wonder what it must be like to have a beard. Human women don't typically grow them, at least not willingly, and not before they are quite old. Even then, it's usually never more than three or four random chin hairs that grow to the length of fishing line before you take notice the first time, and then you become paranoid about them._  
  
   Fili laughed, as he knew she meant him to.   
  
  _I have been considering asking Da if I might go to Mirkwood for a year or two, to learn a bit more about how to be a wife and a princess from Lady Dís, and to help her with your sister. It would be almost a holiday for me. I have given it some thought, and I realize that my housekeeping really is all that it can be, but as the daughter of a king, even a newly minted one (Does four years old still count as new?) I know next to nothing about what being a consort should entail. The only person I know to ask is Lady Dís, as she has been very informative over the years. I have written to her once or twice to ask a question, but I'd like to be able to learn from her in person._  
 _Tilda is utterly fascinated with elves, after seeing Prince Legolas and dancing with him. She says that she has not, but I think she has developed quite a deep crush on the elf prince. I am forever erasing entwined L's and T's from her class work before I show it to Da. I think she was in love with you for a while, too, but that seems to have past, and she looks on you now quite as her own brother, which is good._   
  
   Fili felt his heart skip as he read Sigrid's last words. There were so many ways that he could possibly interpret that, but he forced himself to take a long breath and let it out slowly.   
   "She only means that Tilda trusts me, as she does Bain," he said aloud, even as his heart countered: 'Or she does not want to have to compete with her little sister for you.'   
Fili shook is head, and busied himself with putting his pipe and the letters away.   
   "Don't let your ego grow wings, Fili," he muttered. After everything was back on his person, Fili got to his feet, and made his way slowly back to the mountain. There was a lot to do in the morning, and he needed to sleep.   
  
***   
  
    Fili pushed his hair out of his eyes and heaved another shovelful of earth out of the foundation hole that he and about 30 hot, sweaty dwarves had been digging for the last two days. They would be close to finished before sunset, but Fili and Kili would not be there. In the late afternoon, they were needed in the East Wing, to help oversee the refilling, as it were. Tauriel have been down there for two days, with a majority of her staff, saving what treasures they could before they were lost forever, for the sake of structural integrity.   
   "Prince Fili! My Lord Fili!" Fili and Kili both looked up and noticed Ori running towards them, a small object in his hands. He arrived at the edge of the hole, ever so slightly out of breath. He sketched a hasty bow, as Fili climbed out of the pit.   
   "Ori, I've asked you time and again to stop bowing to me. I'm just plain old Fili, same as ever. Now what seems to be the trouble?"   
   Ori handed Fili the small object he was carrying. "That just arrived for you, via raven, from Dale. I thought it might be important."   
   Fili accepted the message with a sigh. He had been expecting something like this. "Thank you, Ori. You are right, it is a bit urgent."   
   Ori beamed, and hurried away. Kili climbed out of the hole, and stood, elbows braced on the handle of his shovel beside his brother.   
   "So, has Bard finally let Lady Sigrid in on his plan?" He asked in a low voice. Fili nodded.   
   "I do believe so. I'll have to read it to be certain, of course."   
Kili nodded. "You head in early. I was planning on staying an extra half hour anyway. They won't start without us, and it will give Tauriel a little more time to salvage things."   
   Fili gave his brother a light head-butt, and headed back inside. Thorin was stuck in meetings all day, so he made it to his room unmolested. Fili locked his door, and took the time to go to the lavatory and wipe off most of the grime, sweat, and dirt coating his arms and chest. He found a cleaner work-shirt, and put that on before he allowed himself to sit down at the table by the window, and open the message.   
  
    _Da has lost his mind! This morning I asked to be allowed to go to Mirkwood, and he refused, saying that I can learn all that I will need to know, on the job! He is planning for me to Come Out in five months. He said he has already sent out invitations--without consulting me--and has already gotten a few positive replies back! I am to have no say at all, it seems, in the shaping of my own life!_  
 _Never doubt that I love my father, but right at this moment, I think I could murder him, and not feel too badly about it when I was finished._  
 _I need to hear from you soon, my friend. I need some good news; anything to cure me from the darkness about to descend on me. Or at the very least, distract me from it._  
 _Fili, I need you; now more than ever._  
 _\--in haste, Sigrid.'_   
  
I need you.   
   Fili, I need you.   
   Seeing those few simple words made Fili's heart rate increase. He felt lightheaded for a moment, and forced himself to take a deep breath or two.   
   "She just wants my help," he said softly. "Nothing more. She needs a good, loyal friend to support her in this dark, and frustrating hour. Don't read more into it than that. Do not be a fool, Fili. Jumping to conclusions often results in unseen gorges and bottomless pits."   
   For the moment, Fili well knew that there was nothing that he could do for Sigrid, so he added her note to his wallet, and hurried out of his room. He had work to do here first. After dinner, and a nice long soak in the tub to soothe aching muscles he hadn't known he even owned before that day, Fili sat down at the desk again, and pulled out Sigrid's last three letters to reread as he crafted his own reply.   
  
  _Sigrid,_  
 _Hail and well met on this somewhat dark day for you. I have always known that Men do not allow their daughters much in the way of freedom (dwarrow don't either, but we have so few, it is not worth the chance we might lose one), and I am sorry that you feel as if Bard has forced you into this situation. You are one and twenty now, and perhaps he feels that you are ready to face the world. A Coming Out ball might be rather fun, and we are all short on pleasant diversions at the moment._  
 _If it makes you feel any better, Thorin is trying to do the same thing to me. I suppose it is dwarrow boys that Come Out, and since dwarrow-dams are allowed to choose their partners, they fight over us, and we wait to see if the winner is someone we might be happy with for the next 200 years. I had rather hoped that the subject of my marriage was tabled, but it has come up again._  
 _Once the Grand Lady (Tauriel hates that name, by the way, so Kili and I have been calling it that, just to annoy her) is finished, then Thorin is planning to invite almost 80 families with a daughter or granddaughter, to a huge summer extravaganza, in the hopes that I will see someone to spend the rest of my life with._  
 _The last time we had such a group to hand was at Kili's wedding. I flirted with them, since that was what Thorin expected me to do, but my heart wasn't in it. There was just so much about all of the girls that I disliked, that I just couldn't bring myself to attempt courting any of them. And to be honest, I think the vast majority of them were more interested in Thorin, and the position of queen, that is currently vacant._   
  
   Fili tried to get as much fun and happy news and gossip into the letter as he could, but his pen soon drifted back to a more somber tone.   
  
_Perhaps your father only means to let Society know that you are ready to be married. Maybe, he will allow you ample time to choose from the young men that you meet; get to know their tastes, their passions, their pursuits. And when or (if), you meet someone who makes you smile, makes you value the thought of getting to know them further, perhaps then, and only then, you will be allowed to wed. Hopefully, Bard will like the man as well, and you will wed in happiness, not outrage._  
 _If you still want to go to Mirkwood, I will ask Mother to write to Bard and ask for you to come to her as a companion. And no, I will not be making extra work, I write to Mother quite often._  
  
   Fili sent his greetings to Bain and Tilda, and closed the letter. Ori would see that it went out without being opened, as he always did with the letters Fili wrote to Sigrid. That completed, he took out a fresh sheet of paper and began a letter to his mother.   
  
*** 


	6. Chapter the Sixth

    Fili had always taken indoor plumbing for granted, but after spending weeks learning how to install it, he swore that he never would again. It had been over a month since he had last written to Sigrid and to his mother, and he had yet to hear back from either of them. Thorin was actually getting excited about the inn project, and came by the work site almost daily to check on their progress.   
    Tauriel was in charge of training the new staff that Erebor would be providing, and overseeing the interior design. She was having a rather enjoyable time choosing the colour schemes and themes for each of the bedrooms and suites, the four reception rooms, two dining rooms, private sitting rooms, a small pub, and a private garden. Kili was more concerned with his older brother's growing anxiety. Thorin was starting to make noise again about Fili marrying, and seemed not to notice his nephew's indifference to the purported charms of the dwarrow-dams he was adding to his daily growing invitation list.   
    Fili grew more quiet as the days past, and Kili began to wonder if his brother was planning on doing himself a harm if he didn't hear from Lady Sigrid soon.   
   Both brothers were up on scaffolding a few days later, hammering in support beams for the walls, when they noticed Ori's messenger returning to the mountain. They had not seen him leave, which meant he had gone very early that morning, or the night before. Kili glanced at his brother, and put a calming hand on his arm.   
   "Peace, brother. There might not be anything again today. Wait for Ori; he knows to bring you your letters."   
   Fili took a deep breath and resumed working. He didn't need Kili to tell him that, but he also knew that he must be getting irritating to live with. He wished Sigrid would write. There had never been such a gap in their communication since they had begun writing.   
Well over an hour later, Fili looked down and saw Ori waiting nearby, holding two letters. Fili couldn't get down off of the scaffolding quickly enough. Kili watched him scrambling down, more than a little concerned that he might fall.   
Fili reached Ori in record time, and all but snatched the papers from the smaller dwarf. One was from his mother, and the other was the long delayed reply from Sigrid. Fili grabbed his shirt from the rod where he'd hung it that morning, and ran off, past the fort, without speaking to anyone. Kili watched him disappear, and prayed that whatever was written between those pages was worth all the anxiety and worry Fili had just been through.   
  
***

  
      _My Little Lion,_  
 _While I must say that your request is a rather odd one, I have never found the young lady in question to be either mean spirited or coarse, so I did as you requested, and wrote to her father. Bard was a bit puzzled by the timing of my request, but he has agreed to send both girls to me for the next few months._  
 _I assume this is all connected with your uncle's new building project, and his sudden desire to have you married off. I will take a look at Lady Sigrid, but I cannot say that marrying a mortal would be the best thing for you. That said, we can always make a deal with the Seven Families that if you become king, you will take a Dwarrow bride after Lady Sigrid's Doom is fulfilled. They cannot say that there is no precedence, since I have now wed twice._  
 _Mali is as bad as ever. I wish to Mahal that her father would stop indulging her; she is nearly 5, and totally unfit to live with. Legolas has invented an excuse to go to Rivendell to get away from her noise and tantrums, and I really wish he had asked me to come along; I need a long holiday._  
 _Tell your brother that I am very sorry that he's forgotten his alphabet. I have had more letters from Tauriel than him since I came to Mirkwood._  
 _If Thorin proves too difficult to endure, Thranduil has offered rooms for you and Kili to visit us for several weeks. Assuming, that is, that you don't mind being pestered to death by the noisiest, loudest toddler in Middle-Earth._  
 _\--Love, Mother_   
  
   Fili let out the breath he didn't even notice he was holding, and opened Sigrid's letter.   
  
    _I am so, so sorry for the delay in getting back to you, but once you hear my reasoning, you will have no choice but to forgive me. I was convinced within myself that Lady Dís would never agree to your request, but I will be forever in your debt because she did! I know not what she told Da, but within days, Tilda and I were on our way to Mirkwood._  
 _I will say the place more than lives up to the name, but the palace-city is truly a thing to behold! I have always found Erebor beautiful, with its green marble walls, inlaid floors and gold trim, but the palace here -- oh my!_  
 _The carved tree pillars, the flying walkways, the curves, the arches! It's like they gave up on the forest itself, and focused on bringing all of the beauty of the outdoors, inside. Tilda is thrilled to be here as well, though she is disappointed to have just missed Prince Legolas, as he is needed in Rivendell, on an errand for his father._  
 _My grasp of Sindarin has always been tenuous, and living here will push it to its limits. Tilda, is of course, learning it rapidly, and I am a little jealous._  
 _Little Mali is such a sweet, good natured child, who is about to go rotten if her father doesn't stop giving her every little thing she demands. And she does demand; ask is not a word in her vocabulary. Apparently, 'no,' is not either._  
 _Having spent the last couple of weeks helping Lady Dís, I have come to two conclusions; I know more about being a housewife than I thought, and your mother is amazing. She is running a household populated by potentially hostile elves, who in fact, like and respect her, she is a mother, and a wife to one of the most taciturn beings I have ever met. King Thranduil cannot be the easiest man to like, but I think he and your mother love each other, in their own way. I think they are, in fact, quite content with one another._  
 _I can but hope my own eventual marriage (for marry I must, Da was quite firm on that point) will be equally felicitous._  
 _I must go, Lady Dís is going to teach Tilda and I how to maintain a proper still room. I have a dress fitting after that, then it's back to Lady Dís for Dwarrow cooking lessons. I will try to write again soon, but the distance may now cause a longer delay than we are used to._  
 _\--Yours, Sigrid._   
  
   Fili felt ten pounds lighter, relieved that for now, Sigrid was out of danger, as it were. He pocketed the letters, and returned to the work site. Kili was still up on the scaffolding. He watched Fili's approach, and relaxed when he saw the slight smile on his face.   
   "All's well?" Kili asked as Fili rejoined him. Fili nodded.   
   "Better than well. Oh, and write to Mother, or she will start bringing the full might of her wrath upon you."   
    Kili laughed, and they resumed working.   
  
***   
  
  
    To Fili's surprise, it was Kili that made the suggestion that changed everything. The brothers were having dinner with Tauriel and Thorin in her sitting room, going over the various building plans that were taking place around them. Everything was on schedule, and Thorin was actually in a good mood.   
    “Uncle, since everything is going so well, I thought that Fili, Tauriel, and I would go and pay Mother a visit.”   
    Thorin looked startled. “Why now? There is a lot going on at the moment, and the three of you have rather made yourselves indispensable.”   
Kili nodded his thanks, and Tauriel stared in shock at Thorin.   
    “Be that as it may, we all have assistants that can easily take over for a week or two. We have not seen Mother or our sister in nearly two years. She could come up to us today, and we would not know her; nor she, us.   
   Besides, Mother has written to Fili that she will be most put out if I do not write to her soon, and we all know that I am no poet.”   
   Thorin chuckled, and shook his head. “You? You who have spent more money than any dwarrow in Middle-Earth on books, paper, and ink? You used to leave notebooks all over the house, full from cover to cover with your stories and writing. Yet you have not written to your mother in two years?!”   
   Kili shrugged, looking totally unrepentant, and Thorin sighed. “Very well. We have six weeks left on actual construction, and then I believe Tauriel will begin decorating, correct?”   
    Tauriel nodded, and Thorin looked at Fili. “You have three weeks.”   
  
***   
  
    The ponies and horses were loaded and ready to leave by dawn the following morning, and Kili was looking quite pleased with himself as they rode away from Erebor. Tauriel held back, riding behind the brothers, far enough back to talk to her maid, so that they could talk without being overheard. She had seen the questioning looks Fili had been sending Kili the entire time they were getting ready to leave.   
   “Why did you not just write to Mother?” Fili asked. “There is no reason on earth for us to go to Mirkwood.”   
    Kili glanced at his older brother in mock surprise. “Do you not want to see Mali and Mother? Thranduil-Papa has rooms ready for us and everything.”   
   Fili smirked and shook his head at his brother. “Why are you doing this?”   
   Kili sobered. “Because, I have been watching you slowly spiraling into uselessness. The Grand Lady will be opening in a few short weeks, and that means Lady Sigrid will be having her Coming Out ball. Mahal only knows who Bard is planning on inviting. There will be young men from all corners of Middle-Earth, and who knows; her future husband could be riding towards Dale, even as we speak.   
    Or, you can pull on your Big-Boy pants, put down your pen, and talk to the lady face to face. When was the last time you actually spoke to Lady Sigrid?”   
   Fili flushed and refused to look at his brother. “It has been 1,457 days since I last spoke with the Lady Sigrid.”   
   Kili whistled softly. “Please tell me you have not been keeping track of the minutes and seconds as well.”   
   Fili shook his head. “I have been trying not to. She would not talk to me at all when she came to Erebor for Mother's wedding. I . . . think she was annoyed with me. Yet . . . she was the one that initiated our letters.”   
   “And why would she be angry with you?” Kili asked. “What did you do?”   
   “I . . . I do not have your ease with girls I like. I never have. I can flirt forever with females I have no interest in, but, it's not so easy if I have the faintest respect for them,” Fili admitted quietly.   
   “You think I have ease talking to girls?” Kili asked.   
   Fili glanced back at Tauriel. “You managed to marry the woman that put us in jail. By talking about astronomy.”   
    Kili gave his brother a grin. “Well . . . not only.” He glanced back at his wife, and his smile grew wistful. “I want you to be happy with the woman you love, Big Brother. If Lady Sigrid is that woman, I will love and protect her forever when you tell me she is to be my sister. But this is not about me. Why would she not want to speak to you at Mother's wedding?”   
   Fili flushed. “Because . . . of what happened . . . at Thranduil's New Year's party.”   
   He paused, and Kili stared at his brother. “Well? Don't stop there! Was it very shocking?”   
   Fili shook his head, a fond smile flickering across his face. “I will not do the lady the dishonour. I will simply say that Bard thought the worst when we returned to the ballroom, and I think he told her not to speak to me as a consequence. I had every intention of begging her pardon.”   
    Kili's eyebrow rose, and he smirked. “Really?”   
    “Well . . . at least, if I had a chance to apologize, I could see if she was really offended or not.”   
    Kili laughed out loud. “Did she seem to be at the time of the . . . incident?”   
   “No, not at all,” Fili sounded a bit smug. Kili's grin grew.   
   “Then she was not, and apologizing really would offend her. Fili, take this golden opportunity that is being placed before you. Speak to the lady, and find out for certain how she feels. I think you might be surprised.”   
    Fili sobered. “Kili, believe me, I want to. But what if I'm wrong? Or in this alone? You have always had the assurance of Tauriel's regard to get you through. Lady Sigrid writes to me, yes. But we do so in secret; if her father knew, it would be the same as declaring our intention to elope from the ramparts of Dale. He allies with us because it is convenient; he has no reason whatever to hand his daughter to a dwarf in marriage, or anything else.”   
   Fili sighed. “And Thorin has pointed out, and you, and Mother, that the chances of us having a child are slim. We might wish it, but it would kill her. I must ask myself if I am willing to risk the life of the woman I love for an Heir? Or, do I take her to wife, condemn her to a childless marriage, and . . . when she dies . . . get remarried, to one of our people, to secure the Line?”   
   He shook his head, and Kili grew thoughtful. “If that is to be our path,” Fili continued in a low voice. “It is far better that I let her go. Better that I see her happy and secure with a Man, who will treat her with respect, and provide her with a child she can safely bare.   
    And I, in turn, must search among the dwarrow-dams Thorin will parade before me, in an endless stream, for a female with sense, forbearance, and minimal greed, who is willing to wait to be queen, and will not be too resentful if one of the pack successfully manages to snag Thorin after all.”   
   “Fili, Lady Sigrid marrying a Man is no guarantee of her safety in childbirth,” Kili hated being blunt with his brother, but sometimes, Fili liked to over-think things.   
   “Not to put too fine a point on it, but her own mother did not manage to survive it, as you well know. Nor did dozens of women we knew as children, who were there one day and quite literally, gone the next. You cannot secure her safety by condemning both of you to a life of misery,” he paused, and looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye.   
   “And no such dwarrow-dam exists besides Mother and Lady Ithunn, daughter of Lord Arnis. And as I recall, she was much more interested in being a professional scribe . . . when she wasn't beating you up for light exercise.”   
    Fili laughed, recalling the feisty brunette dwarrow-dam from their childhood in Ered Luin. “Yes, and I think she is on Thorin's invitation list. But I doubt she will come. As you say, she was married to her Craft before she even began it.”   
   “Come,” Kili said, giving Fili a light punch on the arm. “We are free of Thorin and the Mountain for the next three weeks. Let us enjoy the trip, and worry about what Lady Sigrid may or may not say after we arrive. After all, she does not even know that we are coming.”   
  
*** 


	7. Chapter the Seventh

    Mali ran in circles around her brother's legs, shrieking happily, and brandishing the new streamer Kili had brought for her. The brightly coloured ribbons waved in the small breeze she was creating as she ran, and this seemed to be a source of great joy. Thranduil was as stoic as ever, though he seemed to find Mali's noise amusing. His daughter was happy, and he was contented with that.   
    Lady Dís, on the other hand, just looked resigned. When she could no longer hear her sons, she sent Thranduil a long, cold look, and to Fili, Kili, and Tauriel's utter shock and awe, he rose from his seat beside her, went to the child, and put his hand on her head.   
   “Stop it. Now!”   
    Mali's mouth clamped shut, and the vacuum of silence it created was almost as deafening as her shrieks had been. She followed her father back to his seat, and climbed into his lap when he sat down. She put her thumb in her mouth, and within minutes, was sound asleep. Tauriel was gob smacked.   
    Dís turned back to her sons. “I am rather surprised at Thorin allowing you to leave Erebor. I was sure he had chained you two up somewhere and wouldn't let you out.”   
Kili snorted. “Not physically, no. However, the amount of busy work he has managed to create for us to do is essentially the same thing.”   
   “We will not be so neglectful again, Mother,” Fili told her. “I had hoped that he would respect you and us enough to allow us to come and go as we please, but I see now, that that is not to be the case.”   
   Behind Lady Dís, Sigrid and Tilda were sitting with her ladies maid, Asny. Both girls were taller than they had been the last time the Erebor princes had seen them. Sigrid was almost as tall as Tauriel, and Tilda was edging close as well. Both were looking far more rounded and healthy; the lean days of their hand-to-mouth existence in Esgaroth were long behind them.   
    Tilda had taken to wearing her hair loose, with just a few simple braids, like the elf-maids in Mirkwood, but Sigrid kept hers firmly up. She had been wearing it braided up for so long, she honestly felt exposed when it was down. She caught Fili's eye, as he studied her without trying to stare, and her hand involuntarily drifted to her hair for a moment, before she quickly dropped it back into her lap. She wished she had known they were expected. She would have tried a bit harder when she dressed that morning, not just put on her regular house dress. True, it was a damn sight better than the dresses she had worn in Laketown — for starters, it was all one colour. Sigrid discovered that she looked rather well in green, and this dress, even with it's ruffle edged sleeves and scooped neckline, was the plainest of her new gowns, so it had quickly become her comfortable, at home work dress.   
    When visitors were expected, of course, she did try to put more effort into her _toilette_. Tilda glanced at her sister, then back at the Erebor princes. She was happy to see them, of course, since they were all friends, but she was much more interested in the outfit Tauriel was wearing. She wondered how quickly she could separate the elf from her party for a bit of fashion interrogation. Sigrid was acting oddly, but then again, she had spilled tea on her gown when the guests were announced.   
   Tilda glanced at the small damp dot on her sister's skirt, just above her knee. It was almost gone, and not likely to leave a spot, so she dismissed that as the source of her sister's discomfort.   
    _'Da has been a bit harder on Siggy lately,'_ Tilda mused. _'Perhaps she's afraid they have a message from Da, demanding that she go back home sooner than was planned.'_   
   Tilda reached over and took her sister's hand. “We'll be fine,” she whispered. “Da can't make you leave sooner. Lady Dís won't allow it.”   
   Sigrid had no idea what Tilda was on about, but she accepted the comfort, realizing that she must be visibly nervous, and that, in turn, was making Tilda edgy. She took a calming breath, and forced herself to refocus on the conversation going on before her.   
  
***   
  
  
   A blond elf servant showed Fili to his rooms. They were close to the center of the palace, with a sky light opening in the branch ceiling. The bedroom was of a modest size, and Fili was pleased that he had a sitting room, and a lavatory. His bags had been brought to the room while he was visiting with his mother, so Fili glanced around to make sure that he could find everything, then he left the room, determined to find Lady Sigrid, and speak with her as soon as possible.   
    Fili had always had a good sense of direction, at least, better than Thorin's at any rate, and it didn't take him long to find his way back to Dís' sitting room, where they had had their meeting with her. Seeing that there were only a few guards about, Fili went up to one of them, and was informed as to the direction of his little sister's rooms. From there, the nursery was easy to find, and to his relief, both Tilda and her elder sister were there, with Mali.   
   Tilda was pleased to see Fili when he invited himself into the room. She rose from where she was playing with Mali, and gave him a welcoming hug. Mali flashed him a grin, and a happy wave.   
   “Firi!” Mali called. Fili nodded to his sister.   
   “Mali. I hope you are having fun.”   
    She waved the streamer and giggled. “Pwetty!”   
    She went back to her game, and Fili turned to look at Sigrid. She was sitting on the window seat, an embroidery hoop in her hands. She was fiddling with the edges of the fabric, refusing to make eye contact with him. Tilda grinned at her older sister, and dragged Fili over to her.   
    “Sigrid, why don't you show Fili around? I know we've been here for weeks now, but you know that I still get hopelessly lost, so I can't possibly do it.”   
Sigrid went slightly pale, and turned to look out of the window. “Tilda, Lady Dís told us to stay with Princess Mali—”   
    “ _I_ will be here, and her nanny will be back in a few minutes. Go!”   
Sigrid gave a deep sigh, and laid her hoop on the bench. She rose and looked at Fili.   
   “Where would you like to begin, Your Highness?”   
   Fili gave her a tentative smile. “Well, I have already seen the wine cellars and the dungeon. Though, I must say, while my visit to the cellar was brief, it was very well stocked and handsomely kept.”   
    Sigrid was shocked by his words, but Tilda giggled happily. Fili grinned at the younger girl, and offered Sigrid his arm. She put her fingers on his arm, and he led her out of the room. In the hallway, Sigrid looked around for a moment, then pointed towards the lower city.   
   “Perhaps we should start with the market?” She asked quietly. Fili nodded and they began walking. For several minutes, they were silent before Fili cleared his throat.   
    “Lady Sigrid . . . I know . . . that—” he stopped walking, and looked up at her. “I wanted to beg your pardon.”   
    Sigrid frowned slightly. “For . . . what?” she asked slowly. “You have done nothing wrong. You have been the best and kindest friend I could have ever asked for.”   
    Fili felt his stomach drop slightly. “I . . . am referring to what happened four years ago; the last time we were . . . in company. Alone. When you would not speak to me at Mother's wedding, I could only assume that . . . I deeply offended you.”   
    Sigrid looked confused for a fraction of a second, then realization dawned, and her face flared red. She put her hands over her cheeks for a second, then began giggling.   
    “Oh, your highness! I . . . you don't have to apologize for that! Have you really been waiting four years to say that?”   
    He nodded, and she threw her arms around him, hugging him for a second, before she pulled away, glancing around to see if anyone had taken notice, but there was no-one near-by.   
    “I wasn't offended,” Sigrid said softly. “Not at all. Da wasn't very happy with me, and he didn't want me to talk to you, but . . . Fili, that has always been one of my favorite, sweetest memories.”   
    Fili offered her a smile. “And mine,” he admitted. Sigrid's smile grew, and she took his arm again.   
    “I must thank you again for asking Lady Dís to send for Tilda and I. We have had such a good time here. I honestly wish that I had thought to ask sooner, so that we could stay longer.”   
    “Well,” Fili said after a moment. “I suppose that after you marry, your husband might be kind enough to let you stay on with Mother as a lady-in-waiting or the like.”   
    Sigrid huffed. “I really don't want to talk about getting married. I . . . do not think that I am really ready to be a wife. I've been a mother for the last 12 years, and I think that I would like to spend some time just learning to be Sigrid. Da doesn't seem to understand that at all.”   
    Fili nodded. “Thorin doesn't really get that, either. You know, his invitation list was initially 80 families. In the last month, I think Ori said he has sent out over a hundred invitations.”   
    Sigrid sighed and shook her head. “Sometimes, I almost wish I could go back to the way things were in Laketown. But, then I remember how awful the Master was, how small Tilda was from not getting enough to eat, and how tired Da was everyday from working. He's still tired, of course, but . . . not in the same way.”   
     Fili was happy to listen to Sigrid talking easily about her family, and what she was doing in Mirkwood. As they neared the market, more elves were out and about, and Sigrid grew more quiet. Fili took the opportunity to study the types of designs the elves seemed to favour, looking for anything that might add just the right touch to the interior rooms of the Grand Lady.   
    In the market, it was quite crowded, and the pair were more pushed together, and Fili rather liked having Sigrid so close. Sigrid pointed out the shops that she and Tilda frequented, and Fili wondered where they were going, since she seemed to have a specific destination in mind. To his delight, she was headed towards a white gazebo near the center of the market, draped over with a curtain of flower-bearing vines.   
    Inside the gazebo was a circular bench and a low fountain, spurting water from a stone flower. Around the fountain, a bed of wildflowers grew with just enough abandon to give the impression that they had just been brought in from a green, peaceful meadow.   
   The pair sat on the bench, and Fili was please to see that, while the vines provided some privacy, they could still be partially seen from the streets, giving some propriety to their private meeting. Fili took Sigrid's hand, and she looked away, blushing slightly.   
    “I have missed your letters,” Fili told her quietly. “I always look forward to them, and since you've been here, I have only gotten two from you.”   
    “I am sorry, your highness—”   
   “Fili,” he corrected her, gently squeezing her hand. “You always call me 'Fili' in your letters.”   
    Sigrid nodded. “Fili. I am sorry that I have not written to you much, but your mother and Lady Mali keep me quite busy.”   
    Fili smiled. “I am sure. I think Thorin is trying to keep my mind fully occupied with busy work, but all it does is give me more time to compose letters to you that I never get to write.”   
    She nodded. “What about?”   
   “Everything. I tell you about my day, what I had for breakfast, any random thoughts that pass through my mind,” he paused. “I keep thinking about what happened four years ago.”   
  
***   
  
Four Years Ago, New Years Night:   
  
    Sigrid allowed Fili to talk her out of all the bonds of propriety, and they had been dancing almost exclusively with each other all night; a privilege normally reserved for engaged or married couples. Sigrid didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed that the elves were too far into their cups to notice that their behavior was tantamount to a public declaration of their intention to wed. She did wonder if Fili knew what he was doing. But maybe dwarrow attached no special meaning to such behaviour.   
    After their last dance, Fili pulled her outside onto the veranda, into the cool night air. Her father did not notice, and Sigrid had to admit, that she might have been a little tipsy herself.   
   “Why are we out here, my lord?” She asked. Fili grinned up at her. “Because it is far too hot in the ballroom,” he told her, taking her small hand in his, and tugging her gently over to a bench.   
    It was a perpetual wonder to her how dwarves could be so much smaller than Men and Elves, and yet in many ways, twice their size. She knew Fili was considered young at 82, an age to which her own grandparents had not even lived. The oldest woman in Esgaroth had been 77, the same age as Kili. But he was young, not much older than herself, really, but his life had been so different, so full of adventures and narrow escapes, that sometimes, she felt like she was nine-year-old Tilda's age beside him.   
    Fili hopped up onto the bench and looked up at the night sky. “Tauriel once told Kili that elves really, really love the stars.”   
    Sigrid looked up too. “But they are so faint, and so very, very far away. I like the patterns you can see when there are no lights near by, though. Then, the sky is just bursting with light.”   
    She smiled as she spoke, and didn't even notice that Fili had stood up on the bench so that he could kiss her, until she felt the beads on his mustache brush her cheek. She turned into the embrace without a thought, and Fili had held onto her as if she were his last hope of salvation. When he pulled away, her face was flushed, and her lips were swollen.   
    “My dear Sigrid,” he breathed against her lips. “You should not allow me to take such liberties.”   
    Sigrid opened her eyes and looked up at him. “You have taken nothing, my lord, that was not freely offered.”   
     Fili gave her a crooked grin, and kissed her again. They sat outside for a long time after that, side by side, holding hands, but not talking.   
    It was late before they finally slipped back into the ballroom, where Bard was looking for his eldest daughter. He had given Fili a long, disapproving glare, and whisked his daughter away.   
  
***   
  
Now:   
  
     Sigrid flushed and looked down at their entwined hands. “You keep mentioning it.”   
    “I cannot help it. I thought for a long time that I had offended you, since you never mention it. But now, I know that you were not, and I shall likely dwell on it far more.”   
     Sigrid had to quash the urge to giggle. “Fili, when are you going to talk to my father?”   
    He looked up at her in surprise. “You . . . wish me to . . . speak to your father? About us?”   
   “I've been waiting for a long time,” she told him. “Why do think I have allowed you to write to me? Is that not the province of affianced couples alone?”   
    Fili felt himself relaxing, and raised her hand to his lips. “So you do like me? At least a little?”   
   “Fili!” She exclaimed.   
   “Well . . . I thought I . . . saw something of it in your letters . . . but I did not want to assume anything, lest—”   
    “Oh, Fili!” Sigrid sighed, half laughing. “What a foolish pair we are! We have wasted four years that we could have been together.”   
    She took a deep breath, and let it out with a huff. “Let us then be plain: I like you. A lot. You are a good man, and I think that we could do very well together. Please, do not waste any more time. Get your mother's blessing, and with her support, we will face down your uncle, and my father.   
    I do not want to marry some unknown, preening youth, or a fat old man from who-knows-where, already on his third wife. I want to be with you.”   
   Fili pulled her head down and gave her a gentle kiss. “I know Mother will support us. And no matter what happens, we will find a way to make our own happiness.”   
    Sigrid smiled happily. “Come; we will find Lady Dís, and speak to her now.”   
    He nodded, and they left the little indoor garden, much buoyed by their admissions.   
  
***   
  
    “That was fast,” Lady Dís didn't even look up from the letter she was writing, when Fili and Sigrid returned to her sitting room less than a half hour later. Thranduil was sitting in a high backed chair, reading a thick book, a glass of wine on the table beside him. He looked up at the younger couple, at their entwined hands, and slowly closed his book, laying it with some deliberation on the table beside his glass.   
     “Lady Sigrid, come and sit with me,” Dís told the girl. “Fili, Thranduil would speak with you.”   
    The younger couple exchanged uneasy glances, and Sigrid moved to take the chair beside Dís' desk. Thranduil rose, and Fili reluctantly followed the tall elf out of the room. They walked in silence to his office, and Thranduil gestured for Fili to sit as he shut the door. He sat down, and gave Fili a long look.   
   “I am not your father,” he told Fili finally. “I have never pretended to be, and I never will. Your mother asked that I speak to you, if it should come to this with you and Lady Sigrid.”   
    Fili's eyebrow rose. “And what wisdom did Mother wish you to impart?”   
    Thranduil scoffed. “I have no idea what she thought I should tell you, but what I can tell you, is that marrying a woman, who's life is so exponentially short compared to your own, is not a choice to be undertaken lightly. Are you prepared to watch her grow older and weaker, in but a blink of your eye? Are you prepared to tend to her, if she falls ill? Are you prepared for the fact that by the time she reaches your current age, if she reaches it, she will be quite elderly?   
   She will die in less than a century. You will be your Mother's age, and you will likely not have an Heir, assuming of course, Thorin does not marry and have a son. If you become king, what will your next move be? Will the dwarves of Erebor accept Kili and Tauriel's potential half-elf son as their next king? If you and Sigrid are able to have a child, and it is a boy, will they accept him as their rightful ruler?   
   Dáin is not that far away, and he already has three well grown sons, all of the Line of Durin, all full dwarves, and married to proper dwarrow-dams, with their own sons.   
I'm not trying to scare you. I am not saying don't marry the woman you love. I'm not a hypocrite. But I am a king. And as king, I must first and foremost consider all the possible outcomes of my actions. Because everything I do, effects my people. I am not an independent instrument; but the servant of my people.”   
   Fili stared at the elf-king, slightly stunned. That was the longest speech he had ever heard him make. Fili sat back, considering Thranduil's words for a long time.   
   “I know that she will die long before me,” he finally said quietly. “Watching her fade away will be very hard, but I believe that we will be prepared, when the time comes. As for sons or daughters, I have considered the possibility that she and I will be childless. I would rather have her alive, and by my side, for as long as possible.   
I may yet inherit the throne from my uncle, and perhaps, I will indeed be passing it to my nephew, in my turn. And if not, I will happily stand as regent to my cousin, until he is old enough to rule.” He sighed heavily. “Or, I will do as Mother suggested, and marry again, this time for duty.”   
    Fili paused. “Though, it will be rather hard on the second lady to know that I have reversed the usual order of things.”   
   Thranduil smirked. “There is one thing, Fili. No matter how much you plan, you will never be prepared for her death. Never.”   
   Fili nodded, and got to his feet. “You have given me more to consider, sir, and consider it I will. Lady Sigrid and I must speak as well.” He started towards the door and paused, turning back to Thranduil.   
   “We return home in three weeks. I hope that I can count on your help when I . . . when Sigrid and I have to face the wrath of both Thorin and Bard.”   
   Thranduil inclined his head. “Of course. Though, I would start with Bard. He will be the more reasonable of the two.”   
    Fili grunted in agreement, and headed out the door.   
  
*** 


	8. Chapter the Eighth

     Dís finished writing her letter, while Sigrid sat quietly beside her desk. They had often been in company in this manner, since she had arrived in Mirkwood, so Sigrid allowed her mind to wander until Dís finished her letter and sealed the envelope. She put it in the tray for outgoing letters, and looked at Sigrid.   
    “So, Fili has finally admitted his feelings for you. I was wondering how long he intended to dither.” She gave Sigrid an encouraging smile.   
    “I know Fili has not had a chance to speak to your father yet, but I will assume his positive response, and say welcome to the family. You have not chosen an easy path, but then again, most of the best things you will ever do in life are not easy.”   
     Sigrid felt herself relaxing, having not even noticed that she was tense. “You really don't mind about us?”   
    “Sigrid, I married an elf, and so did my youngest. I can hardly fault Fili for the direction his heart has led him. Like I said, this will not be an easy thing, not by a long shot. Your father will object, Thorin will object. The dwarrow councilors will object. They may ask a lot of aggressive questions at you. They will all do everything in their power to undermine your relationship.   
    I want you to be prepared for that. If Fili does not become king, will that change the way you will feel about him?”   
Sigrid looked startled for a moment, then shook her head. “I was brought up believing that I would one day be the wife of a fisherman, or at the highest, a low ranking merchant. I had and still have no ambition to be a queen.”   
    Dís nodded. “And if the dwarrow council suggest that Fili put you aside and marry a woman that can safely give him an heir?”   
    Sigrid paled slightly. “I would like to think that he would have more respect for me than to agree to such a suggestion. If I cannot safely have a family with him, then, after . . . well, Men don't live that long anyway. He can remarry, legally, after I am gone.”   
    Dís patted her hand. “You'll do fine. After the wedding, I would like the two of you to come and stay with us for several months, or maybe even a couple of years. I have a lot of things to teach you about being in charge of dwarves, and Fili could use the break from Thorin.   
    In fact, I might just have all of you to stay. Thorin will then either do one of two things; bitch endlessly until all of you return, or he will take the chance to look at the young ladies in Erebor, and he might see one he can't resist.   
    Once he has his own child, maybe he will leave mine in peace, to live their lives as they see fit.”   
    Sigrid looked vaguely alarmed at the irritation creeping into her mother-in-law's voice, but Dís seemed to come back to herself, and gave Sigrid another pat on the hand.   
    “I am sorry. This is a happy day. What were you planning on wearing for dinner?”   
  
***   
  
    It was dinner time before Fili and Sigrid were able to be slightly alone again. Kili and Tauriel were looking very pleased, and Tilda was clearly excited for her sister as well. Fili waited until after dinner, and the family had returned to the sitting room before he asked Sigrid to join him for a few minutes in Dís' office.   
    When they were alone, he presented Sigrid with four Promise Beads. They were silver, with inlaid rubies and yellow sapphires. Sigrid was shocked and curious as to where he had gotten them, but she was quite happy to allow him to braid them into her hair. Fili took his time, separating her hair into four parts; two braids framing her face, and two behind her ears, just the way he wore his. After a few stolen kisses, the couple returned to the sitting room.   
     “Everyone, I am pleased to inform you all that Lady Sigrid has agreed to accept my suit,” Fili announced. Everyone applauded and congratulations were offered all around. Sigrid sat on the small love-seat with Fili beside her, while the rest of the family read aloud from a book, or talked slightly louder than normal to give the couple some sense of privacy.   
    “Tomorrow,” Fili told her quietly. “I am going to Dale, to see your father. I think that it is best that you remain here. As you said, we have wasted a lot of time. I want to give him plenty of time to argue and storm, if he's going to, without you there.   
I have a feeling that everyone outside of this room will go out of their way to make us both unhappy. I do not want to protect you from the world, but I will make every effort to shield you from what unpleasantness I can.”   
    “But Fili, Da will want to see me in person, to reassure himself that I am not being coerced.”   
   “How can that be proved or disproved?” Fili asked. “Even if you were to write to him, there is nothing to say I did not put those words in your mouth. No, I must speak to him face to face, man to man.”   
    He gave her a half smile. “So unless he locks me up, I should be back in less than a week.”   
    Sigrid finally nodded, clearly still reluctant. “I have a letter for Bain that I've been writing for a few days. If you can hand deliver it, that would be wonderful. Let him read it first, and explain what is going on. That way, he at least can go with you when you talk to Da.”   
    Fili nodded. “Your wish is my command, my lady.”   
    Sigrid smiled and Fili took her hand in his, and they sat quietly, not talking until the party broke up around midnight.   
  
***   
  
    Fili left Mirkwood before dawn, his little brother at his side, and Sigrid's letter in his pocket. The two dwarves rode in silence until they were almost to Dale, and it was Kili who finally broke it.   
   “So, how do you plan on winning Bard over to your side?” Kili asked. Fili sighed.   
   “Honestly, I have no idea. Unlike most Men that we have known, Bard seems to value his daughters. I want him to give us his blessing, but I don't want to insult him, either.” He paused. “And I will have to tell him that we have been writing to one another, which he does not know. And I have a feeling, he will not be pleased with any of my news.”   
    Kili nodded. “That's very likely true,” he agreed. “But knowing that she will be shouting distance from his door will have to be a great source of relief. If any of the fathers of daughters we have known growing up is any indicator, having their daughters married well, but close by is always their ideal.”   
     Fili considered this, and added it to his store of arguments to present to Sigrid's father. “By the way, are you and Tauriel having a baby yet?”   
    Kili laughed and shook his head. “Of course not! If we were, you and Mother would be the first to know. Can you imagine me a father? Ludicrous!”   
   The brothers teased each other good naturedly until they reached Dale. Since it was still fairly early in the morning, there weren't many people out and about, but the Stone Street market was already alive with maids and housewives looking for the best deals and the freshest food. A few of the permanent dwarrow merchants noticed the princes, and called polite greetings as they rode past.   
    When they arrived at Bard's home, a stable boy ran out to take their ponies, and Fili asked to see Bain. The teen-aged boy was still asleep, so Fili and Kili were shown into a sitting room, and given breakfast while they waited. It took him 20 minutes, but Bain finally came down, hair uncombed, and still rubbing his eyes. He came into the sitting room and plopped down on the couch across from the Erebor princes.   
    “You know, it only takes 45 minutes to get here from Erebor. If you walk. Very, very slowly. Could you not have waited until a more human hour?”   
    Fili laughed and poured the young man a cup of coffee. “Actually, we have come from Mirkwood. We're visiting our mother.”   
    Bain sat forward at that, and took the coffee cup. “Mirkwood? How are my sisters? Are they well?”   
    Fili nodded and reached into his pocket to pull out Sigrid's letter. “Your eldest sister asked me to deliver this for her. After you read it, you and I will need to talk.”   
    Bain nodded and excused himself to the writing desk in the corner. Fili and Kili resumed eating, while Bain read his letter, and there was no sound other than the turning of pages, and the soft clink of cutlery on plates, for almost twenty minutes. Finally, Bain refolded the letter and returned to the table. Fili and Kili were smoking their pipes.   
    Bain gave Fili a long, hard look, then held out his hand towards him. Fili accepted the handshake.   
   “So, I assume Sigrid told you?” Fili asked.   
   Bain nodded. “Da will not be happy. He is really looking forward to Sigrid's Coming Out Ball, though I kept trying to tell him that she is not. I can almost guarantee that he will not willingly give you two his blessing.”   
    Fili and Kili exchanged uneasy glances and Bain poured himself another coffee.   
   “But that is not to say you should not ask. I would also suggest that you tell him that you are willing to wait until after her Ball, before anything is announced publicly. Siggy can stand up for herself, and the way she was singing your praises in her letter is more than enough to convince me that she will not waver, even in the face of all the young men Da will be hurling at her head.”   
    He drained his cup and got to his feet. “Let me get dressed properly, and then, we will go and speak with Da.”   
    Fili and Kili agreed, and Bain went out.   
    Fili let out a long breath. “This might just be the most stressful moment of my life.”   
    Kili head-butted his brother. “While I never had to really ask for Tauriel, there were plenty of people attempting to stand in our way. That was stressful. Let's not assume the worst just yet. Who knows; he might agree without too much of a fight.”   
    Fili nodded. “Thorin won't agree.”   
    Kili snorted. “Leave him for Mother to deal with, as she has so masterfully done all of her life.”   
    Fili laughed and Bain returned a few minutes later. “Da is in his office. It's now or never.”   
    Fili nodded, and the brothers followed Bain down a long, carpeted hallway to Bard's office. He knocked and pushed open the door.   
   “Da? We have guests.”   
   “Come in,” Bard called. “Who's here, son?”   
   He emerged from the row of bookcases behind his desk, flipping through a book. He looked up at the heavy footsteps and frowned slightly.   
    “Ah. Fili, Kili, what can I do for you? How is Thorin?”   
   Fili nodded. “Uncle is well. Kili and I have just come from Mirkwood. We are taking a short holiday to visit with Mother and Mali.”   
     Bain took a seat on the sofa near his father's desk, and Fili and Kili sat down in the chairs facing the desk.   
    Bard resumed his seat, and laid aside the book he was holding. “Mirkwood?” he asked, sitting back and watching Fili warily. “And how fare the Woods?”   
   “Well,” Fili told him. “Mother sends her greetings.” He took a pair of letters from a different pocket, and put them on Bard's desk. “Miss Tilda and Sigrid asked me to deliver these, since they knew we were coming.”   
    Bard nodded and took the two letters. “And if you are on a holiday in Mirkwood, how have you come to be in Dale?”   
    Fili sat back, looking quite relaxed, though he certainly didn't feel it. “Sigrid encouraged me to come,” he said. “Kili is just along to keep me company.”   
    “Sigrid encouraged you to come here? To what end?” Bard's voice took on a cautious edge.   
    Fili got to his feet and bowed to the Man. “Last night, I asked Sigrid to marry me, and she has accepted. However, she told me that among Men, it is the custom for me to ask her father for your blessing before we can proceed.”   
    Bard was frowning. “And that is not the case with dwarves?”   
    Fili shook his head. “Dwarrow-dams make their own choice. There are so few of them, so it prevents endless battles. Once she chooses and is accepted, his family negotiates a proper dowry.”   
   “Sigrid has little in the way of a dowry,” Bard told the blond prince coldly. Fili and Kili exchanged a confused look, and Bard frowned slightly. “That's . . . not what you meant,” he said slowly.   
    Fili shook his head. “The groom's family must compensate the bride's family for the loss of their daughter.”   
    Bard looked startled. “Does Thorin know that you wish to marry my daughter?”   
    “I . . . have not spoken to Uncle yet, so no. Sigrid insisted that I speak with you first. With your blessing, we will then go to Thorin. I really only need Mother's approval to move forward. I'm seven and eighty now, and have been Of Age for some time.”   
    “Eighty seven?! My daughter is twenty one,” Bard told him. Fili nodded.   
   “Yes, I am aware. I believe that we are approximately the same age. I might equivalently be a year or two older, but we are of an age.”   
    “Why should I let you have my daughter?” Bard demanded. Fili looked levelly at him.   
   “Because I love her, and she loves me. Whether or not I become king of Erebor, I want to have Sigrid beside me. She and I understand one another, and being with her makes me happy.”   
    “You have only met my daughter what, three times, maybe four? How can you possibly know anything about her, or she you?”   
    Fili picked up his travel bag and pulled out several thick stacks of well-worn, ribbon bound paper, and lined them up neatly along the edge of the desk. Kili knew what they were, but even his eyebrow rose in surprise.   
    “And what is that?” Bard asked.   
   “For the last four years, Sigrid and I have been writing. She sent the first one, asking if we could talk a bit about our general insecurities. We had both just been yanked from the only lives we knew, and been told 'now you get to be in charge.' We neither of us had much preparation for it, and I was the only one she thought might understand. And understand I did. Then we began writing more often, and we have come to a very deep understanding.   
    I know Sigrid, almost as well as I know myself. I need her beside me. My only goal is to see her happy, safe, and content with life.”   
    Bard finally tore his eyes away from the mountain of letters on his desk. “You have been communicating with my daughter, behind my back, for the last four years?”   
    Fili started to answer, then paused to consider his next words. He tried to imagine himself in Bard's place, and pushed aside his annoyance at the Man's outrage.   
   “My lord, I love Sigrid. From what she has told me, she is old enough to marry, without your permission, but I would never do you the dishonor. You have shown more kindness and toleration for my crazy family than we really deserve. Yes, I have been writing to her for four years. She has been my sanity, and I would like to think that I have been hers.   
    I know that she has been the linchpin of this family for most of her life, and I should have thought that the thought of her being offered a life of relative ease, if she should wish it, would relieve you. She will be but steps from your door for the rest of her life, instead of half a year or more away in Rohan or Gondor, or in the far South.   
    She may yet be Queen of Erebor. If Thorin decides to marry, and has a son of his own, she will be Princess Regent until the child is grown. Miss Tilda will have the backing of Erebor when it is time for her to wed, and on the far future day when Bain becomes King of Dale, Erebor and Mirkwood will be there to support his claim. There are nothing but benefits for all of the Eastern Kingdoms if we are united, and Sigrid and I will be happy.”   
    Bard stared hard at the blond dwarf, without speaking, for a long time. Bain sat forward.   
   “Da, please. You know Siggy never asks for anything. Can you not give her this? She doesn't want to Come Out. I know the invitations have all been sent out; and there is no going back from that. People have made their arrangements, and are already on their way.   
   So what if we do this; Sigrid has her ball. The young men will all be presented, and that will be that. In a few days, they will leave, a little disappointed, but buoyed by the fact that Tilda will be eligible in a few more years. We announce that Siggy is marrying Fili, and everyone marches off into the sunset.”   
   Bard still did not look convinced. “And what will you do if Thorin does not marry?”   
   Fili glanced at his brother, and Kili gave him an encouraging smile.   
   “For the moment, sir, Sigrid and I want to just enjoy one another. If we have children, then that is what Fate has in store for us. If not, it will not be the end of the world.”   
    Bard still looked annoyed. “You still have not told me exactly why you chose Sigrid.”   
    Fili nodded. “I can tell you that in truth, I didn't set out to fall in love with her. When we first met, she was just another girl, in a long string of human girls I have known all my life. Seeing how well she managed herself and the family when the Master arrested you, and during the dragon attack, I was concerned for all of the children. There was no-one there, and I knew that we couldn't leave them alone, not after we had put them in danger.   
    Adversity brought her to my attention, and the peace brought her into my heart. I love her. I don't know how many more ways I can say it. I can provide her with everything that money can buy, yes, but we neither of us grew up with expensive wishes. She wanted you to be able to relax, and spend time with your family, and I wanted to be free to follow my heart. Now that I have, I believe that Sigrid and I can manage to be quite happy in Erebor, or a in simple cottage up the road, here in Dale.”   
    Bard sighed. “And if I say no?”   
   Fili looked levelly at the man. “Then, I will be back in 24 hours to ask again. And I will come here every day, until you finally agree. But I hope that you will consider Sigrid's feelings, and not just say no to spite me.”   
    He resumed his seat before Bard's desk, and clasped his hands in his lap, keeping his gaze steadily on Bard. Inside, he was shaking, mildly shocked at his own impertinence. Kili cheered silently, and Bain looked pleadingly at his father.   
    “Da, please,” Bain said quietly. “Siggy can do as she likes, but she will be happier knowing that you are willing to support her. And she's not moving to the ends of the earth. Erebor is less than an hour away.”   
    Bard finally nodded, and Fili's face relaxed into a happy smile. “We will do as Bain suggests. After her ball, then we will announce the engagement.”   
    “I thank you, sir,” Fili said sincerely. “Her happiness will always be paramount. I will not let either of you regret this decision.”   
  
*** 


	9. Chapter the Ninth

        Fili and Kili stayed overnight in Dale. Bard was still clearly struggling with his decision to agree to the engagement between his daughter and the dwarf prince, and whatever Sigrid told him in her letter did not improve his mood one bit. Fili wondered aloud if he should just send Kili back, and stay on in Dale for a few more days, if only to try and further convince Bard that he was sincere.   
     “It won't help,” Bain told him, when he joined the princes in the garden after dinner. They were sitting on a bench, smoking their pipes. They had not heard Bain coming up behind them, and they were startled when he spoke.   
    “What do you mean?” Fili asked, making room for the boy on the bench.   
   “I mean, that he will need to see you and Siggy together, before he will ever really be convinced that he made the right choice. I know my sister; she will be deliriously happy to know that Da has agreed. And one day, he might start liking it as well.”   
   Fili nodded. “That is true, I suppose. Then, on the morrow, Kili and I will return to Mirkwood. I want to tell Sigrid the good news, and then I need to sit down with her and Mother, so that we can hash out a plan on how to deal with Thorin.”   
    “A task that I do not in any way envy you,” Kili added cheerfully. Fili punched him on the arm, and he and Bain laughed.   
    The brothers were up with the sun the following morning, and were back in Mirkwood by the late afternoon. Sigrid was waiting for Fili in Dís' sitting room. She was alone; Tauriel, Dís, and Tilda having left when they got the news that the princes had returned. She was twisting her skirts in her hand when Fili walked into the room.   
He looked her over for a long moment, then quietly shut the door, and turned to face her. Sigrid gave him an uncertain half smile.   
    “Well?” She asked. “What did Da say?”   
    Fili moved forward and took her hands, and Sigrid looked like she was about to cry. She turned away, and Fili gave her chin a gentle tug, so that she was facing him again.   
    “He said yes,” Fili told her softly. “Had he not, I would still be in Dale, pleading our case again, and again, and again, until he finally agreed. But he said yes.”   
    Sigrid really did begin to cry, as she flung her arms around Fili. “Oh! Thank you! You have no idea how much it means to me that Da approves.”   
    Fili laughed softly, and tugged Sigrid over to the sofa. “He said yes, true, but I never said he approves.”   
    She frowned. “What do you mean?”   
    Fili explained Bain's compromise, and Sigrid let out a long sigh. “Well, no-one has yet told me that this would be easy.”   
    Fili agreed. “Look, at least we will get to live together for the first year that we are married. Kili and Tauriel could not, and it nearly killed her.”   
    Sigrid nodded. “So, what happens now?”   
    Fili pulled her head down, and gave her a long, slow kiss. “Now, we get to be alone for a few minutes, then . . . we go and see Mother.”   
    Sigrid nodded and kissed him again. “Perhaps . . . we can find more than a few minutes?” she asked, and Fili gave her a grin.   
    “I . . . suppose I could be convinced,” Fili told her, tugging out her hair pins. The Promise Bead tipped braids tumbled down first since they were the heaviest, and Fili took the time to loosen the rest of her hair as well. Sigrid giggled, and Fili kissed her nose.   
    “I just hope you have a very convincing case to make.”   
  
***   
  
    Three weeks in Mirkwood felt like nothing, and neither prince really wanted to return home. For Fili, Mirkwood was become a tiny piece of Valinor. For the first time in four years, he had Sigrid a hair's breath from his side, and it was glorious. The couple took many long, meandering walks; sometimes through the palace-city, other times in the woods near by. If walking did not suite, then riding was an acceptable alternative.   
    Sigrid had had more than ample to explore the city for hidden, out of the way places, and she was happy to share them with Fili. Such excursions led to long hours of talking, impromptu kisses, and much cuddling; a true test of Fili's willingness to wait for more intimate activities. Few dwarrow-dams came to their marriage beds maids, but Fili knew it was important to Sigrid that they wait.   
     "The New Palace still isn't finished,” Sigrid mentioned one afternoon as the couple enjoyed a small picnic in one of the park rooms near the upper levels of the palace, off of the main walkway. Some of the public rooms with an abundance of natural light had been designated public parks and furnished as such. The grass floor was thick and green, the natural trees were tall and sturdy, and the flowers were well cultivated. It was the perfect spot for a picnic.   
     Fili nodded and lay back on the blanket they has used. He crossed one arm behind his head, leaving the other free to play with a toothpick.   
    "I know. It will be at least another year and change under constructions."   
    Sigrid lay down as well, on her stomach, and rested her chin on her crossed forearms. "True. It will never be my home now, and I can't decided if that thrills or disappoints me. I wonder how Tilda will manage things there."   
    Fili huffed a quiet laugh. "Just fine, I'm sure. My mother has been tutoring her to that effect, has she not?"   
    Sigrid nodded. “Tell me about Erebor.”   
    “Closed,” Fili said instantly. “Dark. Isolated.” He paused. “Beautiful, but in a cold, standoffish way. Haughty.” He smirked. “Like elves.”   
    Sigrid shook her head in disapproval. “That is unkind, Fili. Your sister is half-elf, and so will your nieces and nephews be. But I understand. You just don’t make it sound very welcoming.”   
    “It will be as welcoming as we make it, Dearest,” Fili assured her. He tossed aside the toothpick and shifted to his side, so that he was looking at her.   
    “I want you to be happy there. So, I have been considering an extra bit of building work on the mountainside.”   
    “Like a terrace?” She asked.   
    “Exactly. And if it is feasible in the palace, I want it just off the ball room, then parties can be allowed to spill onto.”   
    Her eyebrow rose.   
    “What?” Fili demanded. “I mean to host huge, extravagant parties when I am king.”   
   Sigrid laughed. “And if Thorin marries?”   
   “Then all the parties will have to be hosted by a wastrel prince regent.”   
   “Oh, Fili.” She leaned over to kiss him. “You couldn’t be a wastrel even if you tried. It is not in your nature. And I love you the more for it.”   
   “Only that?” he asked, teasingly.   
   “Well . . . not only . . .” Sigrid playfully stole another peck and Fili grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.   
   “I love you so much, Sigrid Bardsdottir. Never doubt it. Anywhere I can be with you will be home.”   
    She smiled and pushed out of his embrace. “Come, Fili son of Dís. It grows late. Sadly, we must return to the palace.”   
    After a bit more teasing, Fili was finally persuaded to rise, and they gathered their things and slowly made their way back, pausing to look at every little thing that caught their eye, and happily holding hands.   
  
***   
  
   Tauriel alone was excited to get back to her work in Erebor. She thrived on action, not down time. Dís decided to accompany her sons home, and that meant bringing Mali along. The toddler was looking forward to the trip, but everyone else was dreading the thought of traveling with the hyper active, badly-behaved little girl. She would have to ride in a carriage, and the only thing Mali liked less than behaving was confinement of any sort.   
    “You do realize that inflicting her on Thorin will have the opposite effect of convincing him to marry and have a family,” Tauriel pointed out to Dís as they prepared the carriage so that Mali could not escape. Dís laughed.   
    “I can't totally agree with that. He might actually find her noise amusing. Her father most certainly seems to.”   
    Tauriel laughed. “Yes, I . . . do find it odd, though. Legolas told me his father was very strict and firm, and yet I have seen none of that with Mali. She screams and tears about, cries, whines, and demands, and he just laughs, and gives her whatever she wants.”   
    Dís sighed. “Yes, he does. But, it has been tapering off a bit lately. Maybe he's finally starting to realize what a brat he's turning her into.” Dís climbed into the carriage and shut the door. She then spent several minutes pulling on it, kicking it, and hitting it, before motioning for Tauriel to open the door from the outside. She hopped down, and looked over their work.   
   “Well, if that doesn't keep her in, nothing will.”   
   “And the windows?” Tauriel asked. “She will try to climb out of them.”   
   “Yes,” Dís smile was a bit unpleasant. “She will try.”   
   Tauriel gave her mother-in-law an uneasy look. “Do I want to know what you have in mind?”   
   “No,” Dís said slowly. “It is best that you do not. She will need to see that bit going on for it to be effective.” She looked up at the elf. “Shall we get Sigrid, and see to the rest of the packing?”   
  
***   
  
     The party set out early, while Mali was still more than half asleep. She was awake enough to see that her mother had bars fitted to the windows of the coach to keep her inside, and she pouted for a while, before going back to sleep. Everyone else rode, but they talked little before they got to Dale. Tilda was dropped off there, to get more clothes for both girls, and to see her family for a couple of days. Sigrid continued on to Erebor with the rest of the party.   
   Fili and Kili insisted on stopping at the construction site to see how much progress had been made in their absence, and they were quite pleased with what they saw. Even Sigrid and Lady Dís were impressed, and Tauriel was more excited than ever to get started on the furnishings. When they got to Erebor, Balin came out to meet them, and Mali was released from captivity. She was scared and confused, and stayed close to her mother as they made their way inside.   
    Thorin was in his office, preparing for a council meeting, but immediately canceled it, to go and greet his nephews and his sister. It was the first time since her marriage to Thranduil, and Mali's birth that Dís was back in the mountain, and she began to wonder as they walked, what sort of reception she was likely to receive from her brother.   
    Thorin was waiting to greet her with open arms, however, and fussed over Mali, declaring her the prettiest little dwarrowdam east of the Misty Mountains. After all the greetings were made, Thorin invited them to sit.   
    “So, my nephews,” he said happily. “It is good to see you again. It has been rather lonely without all of you here.” He looked at Tauriel. “And oddly, I even missed you, too.”   
   Tauriel inclined her head. “Thank you. Without our constant arguments, my days were not the same.”   
    Thorin laughed and looked at Sigrid. “Lady Sigrid. Have you come to see how the preparations for your ball are coming along? I think you will be pleased with our progress so far.”   
    Fili shook his head. “No, Uncle, she is not. She came with us from Mirkwood, not Dale.”   
    Thorin looked at his sister. “She was with you?”   
    Dís nodded. “She and Miss Tilda have been keeping me company these last few weeks. It has given all of us time to get to know one another.”   
    Thorin's smile fled, and he shook his head at Fili. “Really? Why are you doing this to me?”   
   “To _you_?” Dís asked before Fili could respond. “They are _my_ sons. And grown men on top of that. They are doing nothing to you. Now, let's not beat about the bush: Bard has agreed to announce their engagement after the ball is complete. I know that you have invited every eligible dwarrow-dam in Middle-Earth to come and inspect my son, but since he is already taken, I would suggest that you might wish to look the ladies over for yourself.”   
    Thorin groaned. “Dís, you know I have no plans to ever marry.”   
    “No, you just want to marry off everybody else, regardless of where their hearts truly lie. So, instead of trying to run everyone's personal life, I put it to you, that you should look to your own.”   
     Thorin sighed. “Dís, I'm too old, and far too set in my ways to take a wife at this stage of my life.”   
     “Poppycock,” Dís waved her hand, dismissing his words. “And I put it to you, that more than half of the ladies will be trying to catch your eye anyway. Who wants a crown prince, when the king himself is unattached?”   
     “I do,” Sigrid chimed, and everyone except Mali, who didn't understand, and Thorin, who did, laughed.   
     Thorin glared at his sister. “I get why you feel the need to constantly thwart my plans, but there is no-way that the Council will ever accept a mortal as Fili's wife!”   
     Dís gave her brother a one shoulder shrug. “They will do as you command,” she said. “Besides, there are only so many celebrations about which they can complain, before the people start to get suspicious. Their lives have been hard enough; they are looking for some joy. And a royal wedding always perks people up.”   
     “What do you mean?” Thorin looked at the young couples.   
     “We're getting married, no matter what,” Fili told his uncle, taking Sigrid's hand in his.   
     Thorin stared at the couple for a long moment, then sighed deeply. “Durin's Mighty Beard,” he muttered.   
    Dís smiled, clearly pleased. “Now, we need to discuss when and where Fili will be married. That little inn of yours might just do, since it is in a fairly neutral location . . .”   
  
*** 


	10. Chapter the Tenth

      “No, no, no,” Sigrid gently pulled the dark fabric swatch from Tauriel's hands and put it back on the table. Beside the elf, Lady Dís tried to keep a straight face. The three royal ladies were cloistered in Dís' -- now Tauriel's, but soon to be Sigrid's -- sitting room, going over the last few design choices that Tauriel had gotten stuck on. The three females had been working steadily for nearly a week, and at first, Tauriel had been thankful for the help, but now she was beginning to wonder if there were too many cooks in the kitchen.   
     Fili, Kili, and Thorin were steering well clear of the ladies, inventing excuses to be away from home for hours at a time. Even Mali was keeping out of sight. At the moment, she was riding with Fili to Dale to see Tilda. Fili wanted to talk with his future father-in-law about Sigrid's ball, and Tilda wanted to see Mali.   
     “These are so dank. Are you planning on having a room especially for funeral wakes?” Sigrid asked now. Tauriel sighed and flopped back onto the sofa.   
     “No, of course not,” Tauriel tried to keep her voice even. Once Sigrid married Fili, even though she was older, as the wife of the second prince,              Tauriel would no longer be the Lady of the House. All of the housekeeping duties that Tauriel had inherited from Dís would default to Sigrid.   
Tauriel would still be helping, of course, but she couldn't help wondering how the staff, having finally gotten used to the way she did things, would like taking direction from a mortal, who really wasn't much older than a child. Anything Sigrid didn't like, she could change, and the two ladies were already disagreeing on furnishings for the inn.   
      “It is supposed to be a retreat for the men. It's a library-smoking-relaxing room. Hence the darker, muted colours,” Tauriel tiredly defended her choice.   
      Dís sighed. “Ladies, ladies, please. Can we not argue? I don't know too many people that enjoy sitting in a dank room.”   
      Tauriel's eyebrow rose. “You are married to _Ada_ , right? Sitting in a dank room is one of his hobbies.”   
      Sigrid laughed, and Dís smiled slightly. “Yes, but we are working on a new hobby.”   
      Tauriel shook her head, and rang for a servant. “We will take tea now,” the servant bowed and hurried away. Tauriel looked at Sigrid.   
      “We haven't really talked much about your ball, or the engagement party.”   
      Sigrid looked down at her hands. “I . . . really have not turned my mind to it, to be honest.”   
     Dís gave her daughters-in-law a sly smile. “Through no fault of his own, Thorin seems to have scheduled his parties for Fili around the same time as your ball. So, our lovely little inn will be hosting eager, but soon to be disappointed suitors for you, and more than a dozen dwarrow-dams, looking to be the next queen of Erebor.”   
     Tauriel sat up quickly, staring in open mouthed horror at Dís. “What have you done?” she demanded, and Sigrid went slightly pale. Dís tried to look innocent, but it wasn't working.   
     “Me? Why, nothing. But, it will draw much of the attention away from you and Fili,” she told Sigrid. “And Thranduil and I will get to watch Thorin undergoing the torment he meant to inflict on my son.”   
     Sigrid and Tauriel exchanged quick glances. Clearly, Dís was not happy with her brother, and if he had not noticed it yet, before the summer was over, he would.   
     The tea was brought, and Tauriel poured. Once they had resettled, Dís gave Sigrid a motherly smile.   
      “You should really put some thought into the engagement party at least. You cannot at all leave these sorts of things to the men. That's how you end up with too many guests at table, yet not enough for a real ball. Now, tell me, what colours do you like?”   
  
***   
  
      Two weeks before the ball, Thranduil came up from Mirkwood, and all of the expected guests, both Men and Dwarrow, began swarming into the area from every direction. Fili and Kili had deliberately scheduled themselves for sentry duty, so that they would not be anywhere near-by when the guests arrived. Sigrid and Tauriel finally worked out their colour differences, and the inn was ready to receive its guests. The staff she had been training in Erebor, and the Men being supplied from Dale, were anxious to prove they were worthy of the posts for which they had been hand selected. Sigrid, Dís, and Tauriel had arranged for a huge reception in the banquet hall in Erebor for the guests.   
     Though Fili and Sigrid had unofficially been engaged for two months, Bard and Thorin were still holding on to the hope that the couple might see someone more suitable at the balls and parties. Neither king was holding anything as certain until the last, most inescapable moment possible. Fili continued plying Sigrid with trinkets, and they were often seen walking together for hours. Some of the dwarves were confused; was not the king preparing a proper match for his heir? Some were totally hostile to the idea of bowing to a mortal as their queen. The younger set, who had mostly grown up outside of the insular walls of a mountain, were phlegmatic — they had seen enough inter-Racial marriages not to be phased by the crown prince's choice — his happiness was his own to make.   
     The night of the reception, Tauriel had Sigrid and Tilda with her, and the three ladies helped each other dress. Tilda was excited, because Legolas had finally returned from Imladris, and because Tauriel lent her one of her Elvish style dresses. It was pale pink and gray, with lacy, bell shaped sleeves, and a high waistline. Tauriel knew Tilda liked the dress, and had already had her maid take it in, so that when Tilda put it on, it fit her correctly. Sigrid was please that her sister was so excited about the dress, and Tilda happily allowed Tauriel's maid to style her hair. Tauriel lent her a small tiara, with an elaborate, entwined design on the back, and a simple diamond shaped swirl in the front.   
    Sigrid and Tauriel deliberately went with more dwarrow style gowns. Tauriel's gown had a plain, light teal blue over-skirt, trimmed with black velvet ribbon, embroidered in gold thread with Kili's Crest. The inner gown was a darker teal, embroidered in matching thread with oak leaves, and abstract vines. Her inner and outer sleeves were the same colour as their corresponding skirts, though the over-sized cuff of her outer sleeves, which were folded back to show off the embroidery of the inner ones, were black velvet. The neckline was slightly rounded, but still more square than most elves tended to favour, and trimmed with the same embroidered ribbon, and Kili's Crest.   
     A single, drop shaped pearl hung at the waistline of her gown, completing the triangle of the skirts, and she wore an oval shaped, gold pendent around her neck, boasting a single emerald. In deference to her husband's stature, Tauriel had long ago began wearing flat shoes, and her choice for that night were simple, black velvet slippers. She wore her hair in a braided net, the Promise Beads most prominently displayed.   
     Sigrid knew that choosing a dwarrow gown was going to be seen as a provocative move, but she was growing daily more impatient for her engagement to be announced publicly, and did not really care if the young men that her father invited would be disappointed or not. Her dress had a medium red over-skirt, with a double row of plain gold piping, and a white underskirt, with a red hem, embroidered in red thread with butterflies, abstract flowers, and leaves. As she was still unmarried, Sigrid elected to wear a white lace fichu, tucked demurely into the rather low, square neckline of her dress. A modest, plain white ruffle trimmed her sleeves. She left most of her hair down, except for the four, Promise Bead tipped braids that Fili had given her.   
     Tilda bounced happily around the two women when they finished dressing.   
     “Oh! Both of you look beautiful! No-one will look at me now.”   
     “I should hope not,” Tauriel agreed. “You are not even 13 yet.”   
     Sigrid agreed silently. “Well,” she said, looking them over one last time. “Shall we go and give our men heart failure?”   
     Tauriel laughed, and her maid opened the dressing room door. They swept out, Tauriel in the lead, perhaps for the last time. Lady Dís was coming to get them, and stopped to inspect them when they came even with her. Dís was wearing an elven style gown of dark blue velvet, with vines embroidered all over in gold thread, and an elaborate tiara, decorated in front with the twining leaves of the Woodland Realm crest. She looked every inch a queen, despite the simplicity of her dress, and Tilda felt a bit better. Dís finally nodded.   
     “Well, it's provocative,” she told Sigrid. “But all of you look lovely.” They followed her to the reception room, where the men had gathered, awaiting their ladies.   
     Thranduil and his son were hovering near the fireplace. Thranduil had on a metallic blue and silver robe, and Legolas had relented and worn a formal, knee length silver tunic and gray leggings. At the moment, they were having a low voiced argument in Sindarin, about Tilda.   
     “Father, if it is all the same, I would really rather not,” Legolas sighed.   
     “It is not the same,” Thranduil told him. “She is a child. You will escort Miss Tilda this evening, and every night until Thorin grows weary of this farce. You will treat her with respect, and the deference she is due as a princess. If you do not, you may go home,” he paused, and waited for his son's eager look, and Legolas didn't disappoint. “With Mali. And you will remain with your sister, until her mother and I return.”   
      Legolas went pale. “But . . . that could be ---”   
     “At least two months,” Thranduil said calmly. “Lady Sigrid will be needing help planning her wedding, and Dís is her mother-in-law.”   
     Legolas bowed. “Your wish is my command.”   
     Across the room, Fili, Kili, and Bain were feeling quite uncomfortable in their formal clothes. In fact, only Bard, Thorin, and Thranduil looked at all relaxed, which the three kings were finding quietly amusing. One of the footman opened the door, and solemnly announced the arrival of the ladies. Bard and Thorin rose from their seats, and Fili and Kili set their drinks aside. The four royal ladies entered the room, and stood for a moment, looking over their partners.   
     Kili, ever eager to be where his wife was, was the first to move. He took Tauriel's hand and pulled her towards his seat.   
     “You are . . . amazing,” he told her in a low voice. Tauriel sat, and he happily gave her a kiss. “You look beautiful.”   
     “Indeed,” Thranduil agreed, kissing his wife's hand. “And I dare any lady in attendance tonight to outshine any of you.”   
     “Foo,” Dís said dismissively. “You are full of empty compliments.”   
     “You wound me, my dear, to the quick,” Thranduil countered, and Legolas rolled his eyes.   
     He looked at Tilda, who was trying not to look too eager, and suppressed a sigh. Given the choice of babysitting Tilda or Mali, Legolas knew Tilda was the better pick. She could at least talk, but she was also in enough awe of him not to say too much. He went over to the girl, and bowed, offering her his arm.   
      “Would you do me the honour tonight, Miss Tilda?”   
      Her face went red for a moment, then she gave Legolas a shy smile, and accepted his arm. He escorted her over to the sofa and sat down beside her.   
Fili stood, staring at Sigrid for a long time, before he went to her and bowed.   
     “Good evening, Sigrid,” he greeted her in a low voice. “You look lovely.”   
     She looked at the floor. “Thank you, my lord.”   
     They stood uncertainly for a moment, then he offered her his arm, and took her over to sit near Tauriel. Thorin and Bard watched this little vignette play out with the four couples, and exchanged eye rolling glances. It was going to be a long night.   
  
*** 


	11. Chapter the Eleventh

      The receiving line was longer than Tilda or Sigrid had been expecting, and Fili was a little awed to see so many dwarrow-dams in one place. To his and Kili's surprise, Lady Ithunn, daughter of Lord Arnis, was indeed in attendance. She was presented, and Fili was shocked at how much she had changed in the last six years.   
     Her thick brown hair was curled and decorated subtly with precious stones. Her usual attire of plain, no nonsense, Don't-Look-At-Me brown tunics had been replaced with a bell shaped gown of blue velvet, trimmed with gold ribbon. She looked like a Lady, and Kili couldn't help saying it. She gave him a cheeky grin.   
    “Father wants me here. He's hoping the king will notice me, but I have a plan.”   
    “To stay single?” Fili asked, and she nodded. “I'm already engaged,” he added, and her smile grew.   
     “Best news I've heard all night,” Lady Ithunn declared.   
     “We're having steak for dinner,” Kili tossed after her, and she laughed. The brothers began elbowing each other for a moment in glee, before resuming a more dignify posture. On either side of them, Dís and Tauriel just shook their heads.   
     When the receiving line finally broke up, the guests milled about the room for a few minutes, inspecting their fellow guests, and gossiping. Tauriel finally called the room to order, and everyone paired off, and moved into the banquet hall for dinner. Since nearly everyone in attendance was a guest, Tauriel reserved the High Table for the local royals, and grouped the Men and Dwarrow at mixed tables, roughly by rank. It was a crude solution, but was as equitable as could be achieved, without offending anyone too badly.   
     An army of servants from Dale, Mirkwood, and Erebor were waiting nearby, and when everyone was seated, they quickly began serving the food. This had been Sigrid's idea, again to keep any offense at bay. Everyone was served almost at once, from numerous sideboards in the room, set up every three to five tables. A server was always near by to refresh drinks, clear away empty plates between courses, and pass out damp towels, as needed.   
      The Eastern Royal Ladies watched their plans unfolding with only minor, easily corrected hiccups. At a nod from Tauriel, the musicians that were hidden in the gallery above the hall, began to play softly. The ladies began chatting, and their men relaxed, and began eating. So far, the evening was turning into a success after all.   
  
***   
  
     After dinner, all of the ladies departed to the reception room, to gossip and drink tea, while the men lingered over after dinner drinks. Lady Ithunn made her way over to Tauriel and Lady Dís to introduce herself. Dís remembered her, and greeted the younger dwarrowdam politely.   
      “Lady Ithunn, it is good to see you again. I understand you are a traveling scribe. How does your father feel about that?”   
      Lady Ithunn snorted. “My father can go hug himself. I'm an adult, and go where I please.” She looked at Tauriel. “So, you are the infamous elf-maid who stole away the dwarrow no-body wanted.”   
     Tauriel inclined her head. “Yes, Kili mentioned that he was not very popular with the local girls.”   
     Lady Ithunn nodded. “Not enough beard,” she told the elf, sotto voce. She glanced around the room. “So, Prince Fili told me that he is already engaged. Who's the lucky dwarrow-dam?”   
   “I am,” Sigrid joined the small group, Tilda in tow. “We have not announced it publicly yet, and I would thank you to hold your peace until we do.”   
    Lady Ithunn looked Sigrid over critically, then nodded. “As you say, your highness. I would never be accused of nay-saying our future queen.” She sighed. “Truthfully, most of the dwarrow-dams here are hoping to catch King Thorin's attention anyway, not Prince Fili's. We all knew that he was engaged once, and there are a few girls here that wanted him when he was poor in Ered Luin. But now that Erebor is reclaimed, the truly greedy and grasping have swollen their ranks.”   
     Dís nodded. “Yes, I suspected that would be the case. Well, I warned my brother, but he would not listen to me.”   
     Lady Ithunn scanned the room. “You see that little dwarrow-dam just over there,” she pointed with her glass. “The blond by the bookcase, in that sad, pink dress? She just turned fifty, and her parents are convinced that she might be ready to be a queen. At fifty!”   
      Sigrid and Tilda exchanged confused glances, and Tauriel laughed softly.         “She's about your age,” she told Tilda. “Maybe a year or two older.”   
      Tilda looked horrified, and Lady Ithunn nodded. “Like I said; greedy and grasping. Or her,” she pointed towards a handsome, mature looking woman with slightly graying hair. “Now she is a force to be reckoned with. I hear she actually proposed to the king when you all were still in Ered Luin, but he turned her down. So she's back, to try her luck again.”   
     Sigrid let out a breath. “Fili was right then; the ladies compete and the men just wait to see who comes out on top.”   
     Lady Ithunn nodded. “It will be brutal.” Her smile grew slightly unpleasant. “I can't wait.”   
     “And what do you plan on doing, besides taking bets?” Sigrid couldn't help but ask.   
     Lady Ithunn drained her glass. “I will go out of my way to avoid this entire bramble broth. I just want to get out of here in one piece, and go back home. I am losing money every moment that I spend here. I need to get home as quickly as possible, and try to make up the shortfall.”   
    “Well, I'm sure you can find people in Dale who would be happy for your services,” Tilda suggested softly. Lady Ithunn looked startled for a moment, then smiled.   
    “Out of the mouths of babes,” she said quietly. “Yes, that might just help fill the gap. I think I will do that.” She looked at Sigrid. “In answer to your question: I will be working in Dale until this is over.”   
     Dís laughed. “It really is too bad you don't want to marry. I think you could give Fili or Thorin a very interesting life.”   
     Lady Ithunn snorted. “Thank you, but my life is actually quite dull, but it is my choice, and I am loathed to change it. Besides, I lack the training, or indeed the ambition, to be a queen. And I don't particularly relish the thought of having children, either.”   
       They all laughed, and Tauriel changed the subject. The men began streaming back into the room soon after that, and people began separating into small groups to chat, gossip, and listen to the quiet music being played by unseen hands above their heads.   
     Thorin moved to his sister's side. “Well, have you seen anyone promising so far?” he asked her. Dís shook her head.   
      “Promising for whom? I already told you that more than half of them are here to see you, not Fili.” She pointed out several of the ladies that Lady Ithunn had mentioned, and Thorin paled slightly.   
       “Really? They want to marry me? But . . . what about Fili? He's young, handsome---,”   
      “And Crown Prince to a childless, but still virile king,” Dís added. “All of these ladies are young enough to provide you with several children, and that is why their parents dragged them here. Why should their daughters wait to be queen? After you die, they become the Dowager Queen, and the guardian of a potentially under-aged king. It's win-win for everyone in their families.”   
       Thorin groaned, and looked around for his nephews. Kili was with his wife, and his brother. Sigrid was laughing at something Fili was saying, and Kili was looking pleased. Tilda was ensconced on the sofa, beside an incredibly put-upon looking Legolas. Thranduil was talking to Bard.   
      “So, tell me, what can I do, sister?” Thorin looked back at Dís. She shrugged.   
       “At this point, nothing. You invited them here, and now we must entertain them. Don't worry, if nothing pans out in the next two or three months, most of them will give up, and return home.”   
      “Two or three months?” Thorin looked horrified. Dís took a sip of her drink.   
      “It takes a while to get here, brother. Their visit must be a long one, to justify the length of travel, and the expense.”   
      Thorin sighed. “And when is Sigrid's ball?”   
      “Two weeks from now. In the mean time, there will be a picnic for everyone tomorrow, and a breakfast the day of the ball. Afterwards, you scheduled an outing for the young people, and another feast. And there are several assemblies, an evening party, a day of games if the nice weather holds, and a music recital.”   
      Thorin looked tired. “Two months,” he muttered. “I can't believe I did this.”   
      “Nor I,” Dís agreed. She rose and nodded to her brother. “I will see you later.” She returned to her husband's side, and Thranduil put his hand on her shoulder, and drew her closer to him. Thorin sighed, and signaled for a refill.   He was not nearly inebriated enough to face the next few days.   
  
***   
  
     Assemblies, balls, musicals, hunting parties, archery contests, poetry readings, picnics, feasts, banquets, receptions, breakfasts, luncheons, formal teas, and a day of outdoor games, utterly enthralled the next three weeks for Dale and Erebor. Lady Sigrid's Coming Out ball was considered by many the crowning jewel of this orgy of excess.   
     The day of her ball, Sigrid told her father quite firmly that she wanted her engagement to be announced two days hence.   
     “I have not seen anyone that I will like more, Da. I have known Fili for years. When we first met, I had no reason to care anything for him. But I have grown to know him, and I love him. I refuse to go through that process all over again. You and Mama married for love. Do not refuse me the same courtesy.”   
     Bard sat for a long time, looking at his eldest daughter, then held out his arms to her. Sigrid fell into the hug willingly, wrapping her arms tightly around her father's neck.   
    “I love you, Da. And I love him. Fili makes me happy.”   
    Bard sighed and set her away from him. “Very well. I know when to cede the field. And, as Fili and Bain have oft repeated, Erebor is but minutes from our front door.”   
    Sigrid smiled. “Exactly. Why, you might even be able to see my sitting room from here. It is very nicely appointed, though I am a bit sad that Tauriel must be evicted.”   
     Bard laughed. “You cannot share the room?”   
     “Well . . . I suppose we could,” Sigrid said. “But I have never had my own private room.” She paced a few steps away from her father, looking thoughtful, then turned to face him. “Or, perhaps I shall appropriate my very own room. She took hers over from Lady Dís, and she told me the other day that she finally has it fitted up to her taste. It would be rude to make her start all over again, since I want to change everything in there, anyway.”   
       Bard rolled his eyes and got to his feet. “A house never suffers so much, as when there are two mistresses. I hope you two will come to some sort of accord.”   
     Sigrid laughed. “Of course we will, Da. She's older, has been there longer, and will be there long after me. I fully intend to take my cues from her.”   
    That night, all the ladies dressed separately. Elaborate gowns that had been in the works for weeks leading up to this night were brought out, and from all over Erebor, and in the Grand Lady —Tauriel hated it, but the name had stuck — the rustle of expensive fabric created a soft background accompaniment for the gentlemen as they had cocktails and waited for the ladies to finally arrive.   
     When they were finally announced, Lady Dís was the first to arrive, followed by Tauriel, Tilda, and even Mali was to be allowed a few minutes in Company. Sigrid, being the Lady of the Hour, was the last to arrive, after everyone else had gathered in the ball room.   
Fili stood nervously near the door, waiting for her to appear. Kili stood near by, ready to keep his brother from running to her in his excitement, as Fili had once done for him.   
      “I'm alright, Kili. I promised Sigrid that I would control myself,” Fili kept his eyes firmly on the doors.   
     “I'm sure you did,” Kili smirked. “And here she is.”   
    The doors opened the final time, and Sigrid stepped into the ballroom in a wine red, dwarrow style gown, with an elaborate belt of pearls, gold, and onyx around her waist, and trimming the bodice and shoulders of the gown. Her hair was loose, with a simple half-moon shaped tiara, trimmed with the same jewels on her head. The pale red under skirt was embroidered in red, with an abstract geometric design that escaped the notice of the Men in the room, but the Dwarrow in attendance instantly recognized as Fili's personal Crest.   
     There was a collective drawing of breath from the dwarves, and Thorin looked annoyed, but Lady Dís was looking rather pleased with herself.   
    Sigrid went to the three kings, who were seated on a dais near the wall, and curtsied.   
    “Hail, Bard, King of Dale, my father,” she greeted him formally. She turned to Thorin. “Hail, Thorin, King Under the Mountain, and Hail, Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm.”   
    She turned to face her guests, and looked at Fili, who managed to cross the room to her side without running. He stopped before her and bowed. She curtsied again.   
    “Will you do me the honour, my lady?” he asked. “Of granting me the first dance?”   
    She nodded, and took his hand. Kili glanced up at his wife as she came up beside him.   
    “I think Fili might just explode out of his tunic,” Kili said in a low voice. “I've never seen him so proud.”   
     Tauriel smiled as the music began and the couple began tracing the steps of the dance. “I think it is amusing,” she observed. “A human princess falls for a dwarf prince. They go to a ball, hosted by Men and Dwarrow, and dance to Elvish music.”   
     Kili grinned. “Well, Mother always encouraged us to think broadly.”   
     Fili wasn't thinking broadly. He was focused on Sigrid. The way her hair shone in the candle light, the colour this entire spectacle had put in her cheeks, the easy way she moved with him; the fact that she was wearing his Crest on her clothes, declaring to all the world that She was His.   
     Far too soon for either of their liking, the music faded. They paused as the last notes died away, then stepped back and ended as they had begun — with a bow and a curtsy. The rest of the guests applauded, and Fili escorted her to his mother, as she was standing as Sigrid's chaperon that night. He went to get her a drink, and as soon as he returned, Sigrid was inundated with young men, eager to dance with her. They thought it was a bit odd that she had chosen Fili for the first dance, but most dismissed it as duty; after all, he was a crown prince, and her most immediate neighbor. Sigrid accepted the drink from Fili, and looked desperately at Lady Dís.   
     Dís rose from her seat, and the crowd of admirers drew back slightly. “Now, gentlemen, let us do attempt to be civilized. Lady Sigrid has a Dance Card, which we will fill in, properly. You will all get your turn.”   
    There were a few grumbles, but a stern look from Dís soon put a end to that. Dís helped Sigrid fill her card, and Sigrid reluctantly began accepting dances from the young men. She really just wanted to dance with Fili all night, but that was not the agreement.   
Thranduil was rather amused, watching Dís performing crowd control, and even Thorin began to find it a bit amusing.   
     “Your sister is quite formidable,” Thranduil said offhandedly, and Thorin scoffed.   
     “I'm sorry if you are just now noticing,” he said. Thranduil smirked.   
     “No, indeed. It has been brought to my attention long before now.” He rose, and set aside his glass. He made his way over to his wife, and spoke quietly to her for a moment. Dís flushed, and shooed him away, trying to keep a straight face. Thorin shuddered, and Bard laughed.   
     A few minutes later, Dís joined her husband for a dance, and Thorin looked around for something to distract himself. He still hated it to his core that his sister had married the elf king. Fili was standing off to himself, holding a drink, and watching morosely as Sigrid crossed another name off of her dance card. Kili and Tauriel had slipped out and had not yet returned. Tilda was flirting with some of the elves Thranduil had brought with him, and Bain was keeping a close eye on his little sister.   
      The dwarrow-dams that Thorin had hoped might distract Fili from Sigrid were clustered in small groups, talking to each other. Sigrid's blatant declaration with her dress was enough to stop them in their tracks. The best female had won, and they were beginning to watch Thorin more closely than he would like.   
     Thorin rose, and excused himself to the card room. The only occupants were the fathers of the ladies in the ballroom, and there would be less speculation about his marriage over a game of cards than a glass of champagne.   
  
***   
  
    As the evening drew to a close, Bard noticed that his oldest daughter had disappeared. Tilda, much buoyed by drink, was still dancing and having a good time, and Mali had long ago been taken to bed by her nanny. He went outside to look for her, but didn't have to go very far. She and Fili were sitting in the garden, on a stone bench. They were leaning on each other for support, and they were both sound asleep.   
     Bard stood behind them, watching them for a moment. It took an enormous amount of trust to fall asleep in a public place, and to be reassured enough by the presence of the person beside you to relax that much. He sighed quietly.   
    Bain was right: Sigrid didn't ask for much. The least he could do was allow her to be happy with the man she loved, even if he wasn't a Man at all. He approached the pair, and Fili looked up, tensing slightly, until he recognized Bard. He looked up at Sigrid and smiled.   
     “She's exhausted,” he said quietly. “I thought the fresh air might wake her up a bit.”   
     Bard shook his head. “It has always put her to sleep.”   
     Fili slowly eased off the bench. “I'll remember that.” He took Sigrid's hands in his. “Dearest, you must wake up. You cannot stay out here all night; you'll get sick.”   
    Sigrid reluctantly opened her eyes, and looked at Fili in confusion for a moment, then stretched. “Did I sleep?”   
    “Only for a moment,” Fili told her softly. Bard returned to the ballroom before she noticed him. In less than five minutes, the couple returned, and Sigrid slipped away to her room.   
     Fili too said his good-nights, and the rest of the party soon broke up. Bard was not looking forward to the morning. He had less than a day to produce a reasonable explanation for Sigrid's 'sudden' betrothal.   
  
***

     Sigrid awoke to a note from Fili that put a smile on her face, and she delayed coming down for breakfast to write her reply.   
  
_Dearest,_  
 _Seeing you last night, and being the first to dance with you filled me with more joy that you can imagine. I live for the day such an occurrence is not whispered about behind fans. The day we dance together and the world smiles in knowing amusement about the prince who loves his wife a bit too much . . ._   
  
    _There will always be whispers, my love. But we will ignore them all because we are happy._  
 _I talked to Da again. He seems determined not to announce us, but I will persuade him. I will._  
  
***   
  
     After dinner the following night, Thorin declined to remain behind for drinks with the men, electing instead to go outside, to smoke his pipe and brood. Bard would be announcing Fili and Sigrid's betrothal tomorrow, and then there was another activity planned, but Thorin couldn't recall what it was to be.   
     All he knew was that he had received fifteen separate invitations that day alone, to meet with young ladies or their fathers. And they all wanted to talk about the same thing; his marriage. Thorin sighed. Many of the young ladies, while charming, were far too young, and the more mature ones were not at all what he had imagined for the next queen in Erebor.   
    He'd had a vague mental sketch of a blond young lady, of reasonable maturity, with a sturdy, round figure, and a firm, but fair personality. She would marry his oldest nephew, take over running the household from Tauriel, and in another 40 years or so, he would die, Fili would become king, and his wife, having cultivated the love and respect of their people, would be queen. Their children, perhaps two strapping boys, would be nearly adolescents, and learning what they needed to be kings in their turn.   
     He sighed. It was a fantasy now, of course. Fili had utterly ruined it by falling in love with a mortal. At one and twenty, Lady Sigrid could easily live another fifty or sixty years, meaning that Fili would not have a chance to remarry and produce a proper Heir until he was Thorin's age. And by then, he might not want to be bothered; especially if he really intended to push the claims of Kili and Tauriel's children. The only advantage to such a child becoming king was the fact that they would have a very, very long life. If they turned out to be immortal, like the elves, all the better. The Line of Durin could indeed reign for a thousand years.   
    And after two generations with the same king, no-one would care anymore that he was a half-elf. The stability a reign of three or even four hundred years would provide, would be immeasurable. And his mother—   
    Thorin frowned. Tauriel had said that she was no longer immortal; when Kili died, she would too. But she didn't say how soon afterwards. It could be the next day, or a hundred years later.   
    _'Why do they have to complicate things,'_ he thought. _'I had such a simple plan, and they turned it totally on its ear. And now, it is dead.'_   
     Thorin glanced up as he heard foot steps behind him. It was Balin. He nodded to his cousin, and turned to look out over the valley where the Grand Lady stood, and towards Dale beyond.   
    “Let them have what happiness they may,” Balin said in a low voice. “You and I know well how fleeting it can be.”   
    Thorin didn't reply. It wasn't often that Balin mentioned his wife, even in passing, who like Thorin's intended, was lost to Smaug's rampage.   
    “But why go Outside?” Thorin asked. “I will never understand this. Kili thinks that elf is flawless, and Fili cannot seem to stomach being more than a few feet from the child.”   
    Balin shrugged philosophically. “They were raised outside,” he said. “Their mother told me when they were still young, that she wanted them to see the world as full of choices. We were raised under the Mountain, she was not. The world to Lady Dís and her sons is blue and green; seasons mean something. The boys have played in the rain, basked in the sun, and defeated whole armies in forts made of snow. Have you not noticed that you cannot keep them inside, no matter how hard you try?   
    The world is a big place to them. For you and I, it was green marble walls, and the occasional ride to Dale. We didn't want to know what was outside these gates. It didn't matter.”   
    Thorin tapped out his pipe and sighed. “Yes . . . I keep forgetting that,” he admitted. “I used to fight with Dís when she was small, because she kept going outside. I didn't think it was safe.”   
   “It wasn't,” Balin said. “But because she didn't heed you, we were forced to learn to adapt. And we thrived the better for it. Remember Fili setting up the farming co-operative with Dale, so that we can grow our own food? And there are dozens of young dwarrow his age eager to get back outdoors, and work with their hands again?”   
    Thorin nodded. “He never mentioned it to me, but just forged ahead,” he said.   
    Balin nodded. “He spoke to me about it, and I told him I would pass it on. He did not think that you would agree. But his plan was sound. And here we are, a year later, about to bring in the harvest for the second year in a row.   
     We can make all the advantageous marriages in the region, but if exile has taught us anything, it is that self-sufficiency is the key to survival. Your nephews and their wives learned that lesson well, and very early.”   
    Thorin snorted. “Please. What does that elf know of deprivation?”   
   Balin's eyebrow rose. “You really haven't spent much time talking to her, have you?”   
   “Not if I can help it,” Thorin said smugly. Balin shook his head.   
   “Well, if you had bothered, then you would know that her parents, while noble, were low ranking, and that her father was a farmer part of the year to sustain his family. She grew up poor, running wild in the Greenwood. After her parents were killed by orcs, on a raid in the Greenwood, Thranduil took her into his household, at his former queen's request.”   
    “Oh,” Thorin said. “Am I supposed to feel sorry for her?”   
    Balin sighed. “I mention it because I hope you will think a bit more kindly towards her in the future. She did not come here to undermine you in any way. She just wants to live quietly with her husband, and in accord with his family.”   
     “I will find accord with her if she leaves, and never returns,” Thorin said. “If she lets Kili go, and allows him to marry more suitably.”   
     Balin turned to go back inside. “You will have better luck waiting for orcs to give out apology notes to everyone and everything they have wronged, and then take up quiet farming, in their own, far away country.”   
    Thorin watched his cousin leave, then glanced out at the lights of Dale again. He knew he was trapped in the past; that was the whole reason he had wanted to get Erebor back; to reclaim the lost past. And he had tried to instill that love and drive to reclaim the past into his nephews as they grew up, but they only saw Erebor as a step into newer and better things, in the future. They would never understand one another; there was no meeting in the middle when you were traveling in separate and opposite directions.   
      Thorin went back inside. It was time to rejoin the ladies, and fend off more marriage proposals.   
  
*** 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lady Ithunn (Ethan), who is named after a Scandinavian goddess who keeps apples and youth, was at first conceived to be Fili's proper, acceptable dwarrow wife. But she emerged from my pen an independent, feisty woman, and I couldn't bear to see her tied down. 
> 
> I hope you all will like her as much as I do. ^_^


	12. Chapter the Twelfth

      “Dearest?” Fili knocked softly on Sigrid's door, and quietly pushed it open. Sigrid was sitting at her writing table, and looked up as the blond dwarf slipped into her bedroom. Her face lit with pleasure, and she laid aside her pen to rush to Fili's side. She stopped before him, looking slightly uncertain, and Fili closed the short distance between them and kissed her. Sigrid's face was flushed when he pulled away, but she was smiling shyly.   
      “I am glad you are here,” she told him, taking his hand and drawing him over to the small sitting area she had near the window. They sat down on the sofa, and Fili kissed her hand.   
    “I came to see how you are fairing,” he told her. “It's been almost a week, and your father still has not made his announcement. I do not know how much longer I can go without kissing you whenever I wish, or holding your hand as we go in to dinner.” He sighed. “I want us to be married already. I want to know exactly where that pretty blush of yours ends.”   
     Sigrid's face grew more red, and she turned her head away. “You are being quite crude, Master Dwarf,” she told him. She glanced out of the window. In the courtyard of the Grand Lady, several of the young men that had come to court her were having a wrestling match with some dwarrow boys.   
     With Sigrid's general lack of enthusiasm for every young man that had approached her, most had given up trying, and had begun looking for other things to occupy their time. The dwarves knew that Sigrid was promised to their crown prince, but did not seem inclined to enlighten the Men in attendance. She turned back to Fili.   
     “I do not know why Da has been delaying,” she told him. “I told him that I would not change my mind, but . . .” she sighed. “Maybe he hoped that given more time, I would. I will speak to him again.” Her face set. “And if he will not do it, then I will ask King Thranduil to make the announcement. He is your step-father after all, and there is no reason that he cannot speak on our behalf.”   
    Fili laughed, imagining the look on Thorin's face if such a thing were to happen. “Maybe we should go and speak to Bard together,” he suggested.             “Let's leave Thranduil as the very last option, to be pulled out only at the bitterest end of need.”   
     She agreed, and he scooted closer to her, and put his arm around her waist. Sigrid kicked off her soft pumps, tucked her legs up behind herself, and settled her head against Fili's shoulder. She sighed in contentment.   
     “After we are married,” she said softly. “I hope that we will often have a chance to sit like this; quietly, together; the only people in the world.”   
      Fili smiled against her hair. “I cannot guarantee that it will happen often, Dearest, but I hope that we can as well. I love you.”   
     “And I you,” Sigrid raised her head and he kissed her again. When she finally pulled away, Fili pressed his forehead against hers.   
     “This is how dwarrow show affection without hugging,” he told her. Sigrid nodded.   
     “I've seen Tauriel and Kili doing it,” she said. “And she greets you and Lady Mali that way, as well.”   
     “Well,” Fili settled back on the sofa. “We have such short arms, we had to come up with something.”   
      She laughed and put her hand over his. “Other than your height, everything about you is nearly twice my size,” she said. She grew quiet, and Fili felt her go still.   
     “Dearest?” He gave her a curious look. Sigrid shook her head.   
    “It's nothing,” she said. “I've . . . just had a thought, and I will need to speak to Tauriel about it. Later.” She sat up. “Let's go and talk to Da. Right now.”   
    “Very . . . well,” Fili rose, and bent to help Sigrid put her shoes back on. “You have lovely feet,” he told her, following her out of the room. She laughed.   
     “And you are full of empty compliments,” she told him. “No wonder Lady Dís is forever scolding her king.”   
    They were still arguing good-naturedly about the truth of his words, when they reached the room that the kings were using to hold their meetings. Fili knew for a fact that all three kings were inside, and he only knocked briefly before opening the door, and letting himself and Sigrid in. Thorin frowned at his nephew, but Bard looked slightly alarmed, and Thranduil, whose peroration they had just interrupted, looked amused.   
     “Fili,” Thorin started. “Where have your manners—”   
     “I know Dís did her best,” Thranduil cut off the dwarf king. “But sadly, when it comes to matters of the heart, my steps-sons have none. Am I correct that you wish to discuss the engagement announcement?”   
     Sigrid flushed, and dropped into a deep curtsy. “I am sorry—”   
    “Yes,” Fili said. “It has been delayed long enough.” He looked at Bard. “You promised us ages ago—”   
    “A week,” Bard corrected.   
    “Which is ages when you are young, in love, and engaged in secret. Especially if it is not by choice,” Thranduil sat back in his chair, crossing his long legs casually. “Bard, if you are really that concerned about angering your guests, let me do it. I am Fili's step-father, and like it or not, I am also the senior monarchical authority in this region. I can claim, with little suspension of belief, that by elvish law, he is still a minor, and as his 'father,' I am well within my rights to choose whom he shall marry. An alliance with your daughter closes the circle of allies for our kingdoms. Their marriage, it can be argued, is a matter of state security for us all.”   
     He looked at Thorin's furious face, Bard's slightly stunned one, and Fili and Sigrid's tentatively hopeful ones.   
    “It's a paper-thin explanation, of course, but who are they, but minor nobles of far-away lands, to argue with us? They will not like it, but they will have to accept it,” he sighed.   
    “And then Fili and Lady Sigrid must marry, and marry quickly, because these parasites will hang about, waiting to see if we are bluffing, and continue to drain our food stores. After the wedding, they will disperse, and I can take my girls, and go home.”   
    “How dare you—” Thorin started.   
    “I'm not a coward,” Bard said. “I . . . just . . .”   
    “Da, please,” Sigrid begged. “I already told you, my mind is made up. Fili and I have already lost four years. Every hour more that passes in indecision is one hour too many. Let's just go with King Thranduil's story. My wedding dress is nearly finished. Lady Dís and Tauriel have been helping me with it for the last three months.”   
    Thranduil nodded, impressed. Thorin looked at Fili, who was watching Bard.   
   “Sister-son,” Thorin's voice was tight with annoyance. “You would be willing to claim kinship with this elf?”   
    Fili rolled his eyes. “Is he not the husband of my mother, and the father of my sister?” Fili asked. “I will claim in all seriousness that Dwalin is a dwarrow-dam if it will move this process along. I'm tired of waiting. I am tired of always having to give up my own happiness for the greater good. This time, I will not yield. This time, the greater good will be better serviced by my happiness.”   
    “She will not be able to provide you with an heir,” Thorin argued. Sigrid sighed.   
    “You will be passing your crown to your nephew,” she said quietly. “And Fili and I will likely do the same.”   
    Thranduil didn't quite smile, but even to Fili's less trained eyes, he seem pleased by Sigrid's response.   
    “And who knows, maybe I can have a child. And if not, it will not be the end of my world. I have been a mother since I was eight years old. Now, I am getting to know Sigrid, and I'm beginning to think I might just like her.”   
     Thorin looked startled by her reply, Thranduil smirked, and Bard finally nodded. He looked at Thranduil.   
    “Thank you, but I will make the announcement myself. At dinner tonight.”   
    The elf-king inclined his head. “I look forward to hearing what you have to say.”   
     Fili and Sigrid made their obeisances, and departed.   
  
***   
  
    The evening banquet was nearly over that night when Bard finally rose to his feet, and signaled for silence. The music stopped first, and then the guests grew quiet, in a low, rolling wave. They all turned to face him, looking curious and expectant.   
    Bard glanced at his eldest child, and took a long, slow breath. “Firstly, I would like to thank all of you for coming all this way, to spend a few weeks, and enjoyable ones, I hope, with complete strangers.”   
    The guests clapped politely, and nodded. A few even smiled. Bard nodded.   
    “As many of you know, my eldest daughter, Lady Sigrid, is finally ready to marry. Being the overindulgent father that I am, I wished to offer her an equitable and free choice.”   
     A low murmur rolled through the crowd, and some of the young men sat up a bit straighter.   
     “My daughter has finally made her choice,” he announced solemnly. “I told her that I would support her, no matter what she decided,” he glanced at her.       “And I am a man of my word. Lady Sigrid has elected to remain close to home.”   
    A few of the guests nodded, and glanced at Legolas, who was sitting stone-faced at his father's side. Tauriel and Legolas shared a glance out of the corner of their eyes, and then her gaze flicked to Dwalin and Thranduil's guard, Feren. Both guards had already shifted slightly to watchful attention. Tauriel couldn't help but quietly take charge of the situation; she had been a guard for far too many centuries not to sense the potential for a fracas among her betters. Legolas put a staying hand on her arm, and Tauriel continued looking over the room, a serene smile on her face.   
    Bard held out a hand to his daughter, and Sigrid rose gracefully to her feet. After a moment, he looked at Fili, and the blond dwarf stood as well. The murmur of surprise that went through the guests rose quickly in volume and protest. Tauriel glanced sharply at her steward, and he banged his staff of office on the marble floor for silence. The group grew quiet, but most of the Men in attendance looked disgusted.   
    “In one week's time, my daughter will become the Crown Princess of Erebor,” Bard said, his voice firm and steady. “The greatest dwarrow kingdom in Middle-Earth.”   
There was a slight pause among the guests, then a few began nodding again.        Tauriel didn't relax, as Bard reached for his wine glass.   
     “I freely give them my blessing, and wish them a long, happy union.”   
     Thranduil raised his glass. “To my stepson, Crown Prince Fili and Lady Sigrid, First Lady of Dale; may you have a thousand years of joy.”   
     The rest of the Eastern royals on the dais raised their glasses and echoed the toast, and after a moment, the rest of the guests did as well, though more reluctantly. Fili and Sigrid exchanged glances.   
     This was not a good start for them, but they neither of them had ever assumed their chosen path would be an easy one. He reached for her hand, and Sigrid gave Fili a shy smile.   
     “One week,” she said softly.   
    “One week,” he agreed. “The longest week of my life.”   
  
***   
    _I awoke this morning with a smile on my face, knowing that the World knows of us, and no words can begin to express the depth of my joy._  
 _I want to see you. I must. I know Mother will have you all of everywhere for the next week, so meet me tonight, in the still room. I just desperately need to kiss you._  
 _Fili_   
  
***   
  
    Sigrid slipped into the still room and paused, momentarily assaulted by the smell of dried herbs, and slightly blinded by the moonlight streaming in the lattice ceiling. She closed the door softly.   
    “Fili?” she called quietly.   
    “Dearest.”   
    She started and turned. He was standing in the far corner, partially hidden by the odd shadows and the potted plants. She wove carefully through the beds of herbs to his side.   
    “You got my note,” Fili sounded pleased.   
    Sigrid smiled. “How could I resist such a request?” She teased. “You promised me a kiss.”   
  
*** 


	13. Chapter the Thirteenth

      “There,” Lady Dís stood back to inspect her future daughter-in-law as Tauriel fitted a crown of white flowers on the young woman's light brown hair. Tilda sighed with envy, and hugged her sister's arm.   
     “It's perfect,” Lady Dís said. Tilda nodded and moved to Lady Dís' side.   
     “When I get married, will you help me with my dress?” she asked the dwarrow-dam. Dís nodded.   
     “I'd be delighted to, darling,” she told the child as she steered Sigrid towards the mirror. “Have a look, my dear.”   
    Sigrid was watching her feet as she walked, and slowly raised her head to take in her reflection when she stopped in front of the mirror. The gown was white brocade with a black velvet hem, decorated with white embroidery and hand-sewn pearls. The underskirt was dark navy blue velvet, edged with a broad hem, embroidered with Fili's Crest in gold thread and pearls. The bodice and sleeves were the same white brocade as the skirt, with a fan pattern of gold ribbon, decoratively slashed to show the blue under-dress, and edged at the waist and neckline with more pearls. Sigrid did a slow spin, and turned to face the others.   
     “I . . . have never, ever felt this beautiful in my life.”   
    Tilda hugged her sister again, and Tauriel and Dís exchanged happy smiles.   
    “I think Fili would be happy if you showed up in sackcloth and ashes,” Dís told her. “But you do look wonderful. I think your mother would be so proud of the woman you have become.”   
      “I could not have said it better.”   
     All four of them turned towards the door, three in surprise. Tauriel nodded towards Bard, who was looking at his eldest daughter with pride, and some sadness.   
      “Da?” Sigrid asked. Bard shut the dressing room door, and the others retreated to the other side of the room. He stopped before her and studied her for a long time.   
     “You look so much like your mother,” Bard told Sigrid in a low voice. “And so does Tilda. But you, today . . .” he shook his head. “Perfection.” He kissed her on the forehead, and Sigrid began blinking back tears.   
    “I am sorry that I tried to keep you my little girl for so long,” Bard said. “And yet, even as I watched you growing up, and trying so desperately to take your mother's place, I couldn't help but be proud of you.”   
      Sigrid flushed. “Oh, Da. I've done nothing to really deserve any of this. I was prepared to be the wife of a fisherman, or a bargeman. And yet, somehow, I caught the eye of a prince.” She gave her father a watery smile. “And he loves me. And I love him.”   
     Bard nodded and pulled her into a tight hug. “Oh, Sigrid. I am proud of you; and I would have been happy to see you married to anyone that will make you happy. Prince Fili is a good man. He is not his uncle, at any rate.”   
     Sigrid laughed softly. “I can handle Thorin,” she told her father. “And I have Tauriel to help me. And, if I really need to bring out the heavy artillery, King Thranduil is but a raven messenger away.”   
     Bard laughed, and took his daughter's arm. “Come, my dear. It is time.”   
     Sigrid looked at Tilda, who ran over to hand her sister her flowers, and they moved out of the dressing room together, Dís and Tauriel following closely behind.   
  
***   
  
     Fili tugged slightly on the hem of the dark blue tunic he was wearing, and forced himself to put his hands behind his back. Beside him, Kili was grinning.   
     “I can't believe that I'm the senior in this,” Kili told his brother. “I get to stand here and council you.”   
     Fili grinned at his little brother. “Yes, I do recall considering how I could prevent you from sprinting down the room before my sister arrived.”   
    Kili glanced towards the dais where their mother had just joined King Thranduil, and a still slightly disgruntled looking Thorin.   
    “I was tempted,” Kili admitted. “And I know you are, too.”   
    Fili huffed into his beard. In the years since they had been in Erebor, Fili's beard had filled out enough for him to begin styling it, and Dís had proudly presented her eldest son with his father's hair beads as a wedding gift the night before. Though they were of a simple design, Fili had happily accepted his brother's help in getting the silver beads braided into his beard that morning.   
    “I will restrain myself,” Fili told Kili in a low voice. “That's what I was always brought up to do, remember?”   
     Kili shrugged philosophically, and turned towards the doors as they slowly swung open. Several dwarrow-dams, including Lady Ithunn, who was being escorted by Bain, entered the room ahead of Sigrid, and lined up opposite the Erebor princes. Lady Ithunn gave Fili a wink.   
    “She looks amazing,” she whispered, and Kili reached over and took a small pinch of his brother's tunic as Bain came to stand behind Kili. Mali arrived next, in an elaborate elven style gown of red velvet, her blond hair a riot of curls and flowers. She was carrying Sigrid's bouquet, and came solemnly into the room to stand beside Lady Ithunn. Tauriel arrived next, with Tilda, and the main doors closed.   
      Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, when the doors reopened the final time, and Bard arrived, escorting his eldest daughter.   
Fili was sure he had forgotten how to breathe properly as Sigrid was escorted to his side, and her hand placed in his. He didn't notice his brother or Bard moving back to give the couple room, he didn't notice Balin taking his place before them to initiate the ceremony. All he could think about was how beautiful Sigrid was, about how proud he was to see his crest on her clothes, how lucky he was that she loved him. Him!   
      A dwarf of little education, from the Blue Mountains, who's greatest achievement in life so far was walking across Middle Earth and not dying in the process.   
     Kili helpfully nudged his brother when it was time to say his vows, and present Sigrid with her wedding ring, which he had made himself. She cried as the cool metal band slipped onto her finger.   
     “I love you,” he told her and Sigrid nodded.   
      She had gotten Kili and Dís to help her with Fili's ring, since she was no jewel-smith, and she was nervous that he wouldn't like it, or that it wouldn't fit. Mali handed her the ring, and Sigrid felt faint with relief when it slipped easily over his finger.   
     Balin gave the couple an encouraging smile, and stepped back. They knelt before the three kings and recited their loyalty pledges, and like Tauriel before her, Sigrid elected to remain kneeling when Fili kissed her, to keep from embarrassing him. The kiss she got was long, and sweet, but he finally pulled away, and gently drew her to her feet.   
     “May your days be long and happy,” Balin said, and the gathered guests echoed the sentiment. “My lords, ladies, and gentlemen; the Crown Prince and Princess of Erebor.” Everyone applauded and cheered.   
     Fili smiled up at Sigrid. “You're stuck with me now,” he told her. “There's no turning back.”   
     “The thought never crossed my mind,” Sigrid smiled. “I couldn't be happier.”   
    Kili slapped his brother on the back and grinned at Sigrid. “So, I can call you 'Sissy' now, right?”   
    “No!” Fili said, shrugging him off. Sigrid laughed.   
    “Well, Bain and Tilda call me 'Siggy,'” she said. “I suppose I wouldn't mind hearing that from time to time.”   
    Kili nodded, then turned back to Bain as the boy began tugging on his arm. Tauriel watched them for a moment, then shook her head.   
    “You are both children,” she said, and Kili gave his wife a cheeky grin.   
    “It's one of my charms.” Tauriel rolled her eyes, and turned to follow Sigrid and Fili into the banquet hall.   
  
***

_Dearest,_

_You are sleeping soundly as I write this. I hope the lamp will not wake you prematurely, as you have more than earned your rest. I have loved you for many years now, and tonight, after so many weeks spent in anxious anticipation of Thorin’s disapprobation, the wedding, and then traveling to the Iron Hills, we are finally, for the first time, truly alone together. I worried that the differences between us would be insurmountable, but it was a needless concern._  
 _When you accepted my hand, I thought I knew happiness, but that paled in comparison to seeing you walk down the aisle towards me. That in its turn, diminished slightly when Balin declared us husband and wife, and I could truly kiss you without censure. And then, tonight, despite all the fumbling, getting caught in my shirt, and several near-miss kisses, we found our own profound moments, and I am sure nothing will ever make me happier than I am at this moment._  
 _Then why am I not indulging in the warmth of your arms, and sitting here, with cold toes writing you a letter you may never see?_  
 _Because I love you, Sigrid Bardsdottir. You are the only woman I will ever love. I cannot do without you. Never doubt it. No matter what the future brings, know that you will ever be uppermost in my thoughts._  
 _You are stirring, likely seeking my warmth. And I am more than willing to provide it. Sleep well, dearest_ amrâlu kuylê _\-- love of my life._  
 _\--Fili_

  
_***_


	14. Chapter the Fourteenth

      “Welcome home, Dearest.” Fili held open the door of the apartment for Sigrid, and gave her a happy smile. In the two months the crown prince and princess had been on their wedding trip, Kili and Tauriel had worked non-stop to get the apartment ready for their return. Tauriel had seen to it that Sigrid’s belongings arrived safely from Dale and Mirkwood, and she happily deferred to Tilda’s superior knowledge of her sister’s taste when it came to decorating.   
     Sigrid stared at the foyer in open mouthed shock. “It . . . It looks like a house. Like the kind my people live in. But I know we are in Erebor!”   
    Fili’s grin grew. “It does, indeed. Kili and I lived for a time in such a house, and I wanted you to be as comfortable as possible. So, I asked Kili what he thought, and he promised me it would be good.”   
    She looked at him, clearly still shocked. “So you haven't seen this either?”   
   He shook his head. “Nothing beyond a few rude, early sketches. I figured we'd enjoy it more exploring it together.”   
   Sigrid gave him a quick, happy kiss, and Fili took her hand in his. “Shall we?”   
   The pair began exploring. From the foyer, a staircase, built close to the wall and slightly curved, led them up to the first floor. There, carved wooden balconies off of the open corridors allowed them to look down into the main solar, where an abundance of sofas, chairs, and benches were grouped into small seating areas. The solar was dominated in the back corner by an enormous fireplace, brightly painted and carved with the Durin crest, and some words in Cirth runes Sigrid couldn't read. She was curious what it said, but was more anxious to see the rest of the house.   
     Just off the solar, an office had been set up for them to share, that could be used for work and private meetings. There were a few chairs in the corner, around the fire place for less formal meetings, while a pair of desks sat, slightly offset from one another, on the opposite side of the room.   
    Back on the ground floor, Sigrid was impressed with the small library and the private dining room and kitchen.   
   “It only took eight weeks to do all of this?” she asked Fili, disbelievingly.   
   “Well, to fix it up a bit, yes. The bones were already there. This was always the crown prince’s apartment, but I never lived here. I liked my little room. It was cozy.” He gave her a kiss. “And now this is.”   
    Sigrid grinned. “We did miss all the bedchambers.”   
   “Ah, indeed.” He gave her a slightly lecherous grin. “The others can wait, but I would not be opposed to seeing ours now.”   
    They ascended the stairs again, and followed the corridor to the enormous carved wooden doors at its end.   
    “I'm going to go out on a limb here, and assume this is our room, ” Fili said, pushing the doors open. Sigrid laughed and nodded, following him inside.   
There, they were treated to a high vaulted stone ceiling, two small windows, one with curtains hanging out from it to create a seating alcove, and a huge carved four poster bed.   
     Their wedding trip to the Iron Hills was to introduce Sigrid to Dáin Ironfoot, and also to gain his support when Fili finally took the crown. But while they were there, Sigrid had at first been a bit surprised by the dwarves’ love of enormous beds, but had quickly gotten past it, as they were comfortable, and allowed her more than ample room to stretch out.   
     Now, she glanced at Fili and gave him a slow smile. “Shall we see if it is as comfortable as it looks? One can never tell from a distance.”   
Fili laughed and happily tugged his wife towards the bed. “Just a quick check.”   
     “Oh,” she tried to look disappointed. “But endurance is an important factor in comfort.”   
     “Is it, now?” Fili eased off the belt Sigrid was wearing, and allowed his fingers to lightly skim her hips as it fell to the floor. “I will try and keep that in mind.”   
      She leaned down to kiss him, and it was a long while before the house tour resumed.   
  
***   
  
      When Fili and Sigrid finally dragged themselves out of the bed, they treated themselves to a lovely, hot bath in the en-suite bathroom, another feature Sigrid had quickly grown to appreciate, then they spent a happy half hour fixing food in the kitchen. They elected to eat in the solar, by the fireplace.   
     Sigrid was pleased to see that Fili had a nice blaze going by the time she was finished cooking and brought the food into the room. She sat with him on the rug, and they ate in companionable silence. When she was finished, Sigrid laid aside her plate, and put her head down on Fili’s lap.   
     “Thank you,” she said softly. He ran his fingers through her hair.   
     “For what, Dearest? Kili and Tauriel did the real work.” He felt her smile.   
     “But it was your idea. You wanted to make this alien place a home for me. Few Men would bother. You know how I grew up. Da did what he could for us, and we were happy in our little house. I’ve told you before that sometimes, I miss that house. It's gone now, but I still miss it. The New Palace isn't home.”   
    Fili nodded. “To be honest, my motives were a bit selfish, too. I liked it when we were in the house. Mother did, too, but Thorin hated it! He kept checking the walls, and asking how it stayed upright. Kili and I used to laugh, and Mother would run him off.”   
     He smiled slightly. “Besides, no dwarrow worth his salt would bring his bride to a half-done home. You know, we have a saying: _‘A dwarf that chooses to take a wife must guard her as his greatest treasure.’_   
      Not all of my people marry. There are not enough dwarrow-dams, and most of us are so consumed by our crafts that we don’t bother to notice that we are alone.”   
       He sighed. “You can thank Mahal for that. He loves making things, and instilled us with that same passion. Sadly, it is killing us. But, perhaps that’s why Eru agreed to Adopt us: there was little chance of us spreading far and wide.”   
     Sigrid sat up. “I've ruined your mood. I'm sorry.”   
     Fili shook his head and gave her a smile. “No, Dearest. I went off on a tangent. I only meant that because I have been privileged to wed, you and your happiness are now my pride and joy. Nothing I make with my own hands will ever be as good as your love.”   
He gave her hair a gentle tug, and Sigrid leaned in for a kiss. “I love you,” he told her. “I cannot do without you.”   
     “And I love you, Fili.” She grinned. “Even though my first sight of you was you emerging from the toilet in our basement.”   
    Fili laughed. “Mahal! I had put that out of my mind! Wow, that’s embarrassing!”   
    She laughed and got to her feet. “Come on, lets get this cleaned up and go back to bed."   
     He agreed, and began banking the fire. “Our staff will be arriving sometime tomorrow. We have a cook, a couple of maids, two men, and a housekeeper.”   
Sigrid sighed. “Great. And here I was hoping to get away from directing servants.”   
     “Well, it might be a bit different this time, since they are all dwarrow.”   
     She nodded and headed for the kitchen with their plates. “We shall see.”   
  
***   
  
     Without the sun to wake her, it was well into the morning before Sigrid stirred. She could hear Fili singing in the bathroom, the acoustics adding an interesting echo to his voice. She smirked and sat up.   
     “Fili, what time is it?”   
     The door flew open, and her husband appeared, clutching a short towel around his hips, water droplets still clinging to his hair and beard, and meandering down his chest. He gave Sigrid a lopsided grin that she couldn’t help but return.   
     “Nine or ten, I'd say. Why? Do you need to be somewhere?”   
     She shook her head. “No, not especially. But we must get a clock or something. I cannot lie abed everyday.”   
    “Why not?” he asked, crossing over to the bed to rejoin her. He paused to drop the towel on the floor, and Sigrid hastily pulled the sheet up to her neck.   
     “Oh no! No! I have things to do this morning, and so do you.”   
    “Do I?” He purred. “We just arrived home yesterday, after a week on the road. Surely one more day of sloth can be excused?”   
    Before she could answer, a discreet knock sounded.   
    “Sire? Madam? I am sorry to disturb you, but your brother has come to call.”   
    Fili cursed and hopped down to get dressed. Sigrid dropped the sheet.   
   “Thank you. Send for my maid, please. We will be down shortly. Furnish Prince Kili with breakfast if he has not already dined.” She looked at Fili. “Duty calls, my love.”   
    “I’ll kill him,” Fili muttered, pulling on pants with more force than was strictly necessary.   
    “Fili,” Sigrid chastised gently. “He's your baby brother. He’s probably anxious to know what we think of the house.”   
    He huffed, and retreated to his dressing room as Sigrid’s maid knocked and let herself in. Like it or no, the day had begun.   
  
***   
  
    That night, Sigrid arranged for herself and Fili to have dinner at home. Their personal staff was more than happy to accommodate Sigrid’s request, and after serving the couple, they withdrew for the night.   
    “See, my love. Does this not make up for this morning? A quiet evening to wash away the stress of the day.”   
   Fili smiled and toasted her with his glass. “I may have to agree, Dearest. Despite Kili this morning, and a dull as dirt council meeting, I have to say, this has been a good day. But this has been my favorite part. So far.”   
    She laughed. “You know, I miss our letters sometimes, but then I recall that I will be seeing you again in a few short hours, and can tell you everything.”   
She looked at her plate. “Sadly, today was not that interesting for me. Tauriel and I met with the full staff, and she transferred the house keys to me, with rather more joy than I think she meant to, and then we spent the day going over all the minutia of the Household. Holy Valar, but there is a lot to do!”   
     Fili frowned. “I never thought Tauriel managed things so badly. Will she not help you set it to rights?”   
    Sigrid shook her head. “Oh, that’s not what I meant! Tauriel has managed everything very, very well. I do not know if I can keep up with everything she has begun. She has offered to help me, and I have gladly accepted. We shall be as close as sisters-in-law can possibly be, I promise. We neither of us want conflict in this house.”   
     Fili nodded, and turned the subject. After dinner, they retired to their shared office, where Sigrid took out her knitting, and Fili some paperwork. After a quiet hour or so of this, Fili pushed aside his papers and went to his wife.   
    “Dearest, I grow bored of this. We have been married for eight weeks, yet –”   
     Sigrid laughed and set aside her knitting. “Such quiet nights are for old married couples, ne?” She gave him a kiss and got to her feet. “I shall call it a testimony to how close we already are. Come, I think I know what you would prefer to be doing.”   
  
*** 


	15. Chapter the Fifteenth

Four Months Later:   
  
    Thorin quietly opened the door to Sigrid's sitting room, and glanced inside. Fili was there with his wife. Since his marriage, Thorin had noticed a sense of peace that had settled over his Heir. Fili still worked hard, maybe harder than ever, but the seriousness and the gravity that had weighed the young man down seemed to be gone. Fili was anxious to go home to his wife every night, and Thorin rarely saw the couple at meals. Kili and Tauriel still ate with him, but Fili and Sigrid always had dinner in their apartment, alone.   
      Sigrid was eagerly learning from Tauriel how to manage such a huge Household. The two women had met with the full staff when she and Fili returned from their wedding trip to the Iron Hills, to reassure them that there would not be strife in the Household, with two Mistresses competing. There would be one — Sigrid. She was the Crown Princess after all. Tauriel was just there to help her as best she could, but Sigrid was to be the final word on everything.   
      The relief among the staff was palpable, and they were willing to comply for the sake of peace, and so far, most of them found no more fault in Sigrid's management than they had in Tauriel's. The only one who was not really adjusting well to the way Sigrid ran things was Thorin. He didn't like change, and after decades of Dís' management, and five years of finally accepting the way Tauriel did things — though not without considerable argument — he was having to adjust a third time. His nephews found it all quite amusing.   
      One thing for which Thorin had been truly grateful, was that his nieces had chased all of the bride candidates out of the Mountain. Two mistresses was more than any household should be forced to bear, and three would be well neigh impossible. There would be no wife for Thorin. The sisters-in-law had agreed that Lady Ithunn alone would make an interesting addition to Sigrid's Household though, so Lady Dís made the younger dwarrow-dam an offer she dared not refuse.   
     Lady Ithunn had agreed, somewhat reluctantly, to stay on with Sigrid, with the understanding that she was to first spend half a year with Lady Dís, in Mirkwood, learning what she would need to know to be an effective lady-in-waiting and companion for the Crown Princess. While her father was still crushingly disappointed that his daughter was not to be Queen of Erebor, that she was the future queen's chief ladies-maid was nearly as good. She would be much thrown together with the king and his heir, and even if Thorin never came up to scratch, their future queen was sadly mortal.   
      Fili, meanwhile, had begun construction on a huge, private outdoor recreation space on the mountain side. He and Kili were still not adjusting well to life under a mountain, and Thorin had finally given up on trying to keep the two young couples indoors. Whenever they could manage it, there was always a trip to Dale in the schedule, or a hunting outing, a walk, a trip to the golf course Dís had built on the Overlook, endless hours out riding, inspections to be made in Laketown, and day visits to the farms.   
      Dale had been rebuilt and was already expanding past it's walls, and Esgaroth, while no longer anyone's home, was quickly becoming the busy trading port it had once been. Warehouses for incoming merchandise were being built on the shore, with outgoing goods being stored in the former town. All of this construction required skilled builders, and Fili and Kili had found dwarrow aplenty ready and eager to offer their time and skills. Even some of the Men of Dale, anxious to return their port to its former glory, were helping withe reconstruction. Kili discovered that he was actually quite competent at that sort of work, and he really enjoyed it, so while Fili focused on farming, Kili turned more and more towards engineering and construction.   
      At the moment, Fili and his wife were discussing traveling to Mirkwood for several days. Sigrid had received a letter from Dís, to inform her that Lady Ithunn had completed her training, and was ready to return to Erebor. A carriage could have easily been arranged by Dís or even Lady Ithunn herself, to move her back to Erebor, but Fili and Kili were happy to have an excuse to get away from home, and seeing their mother again, while collecting Lady Ithunn, was not an opportunity to be lightly tossed aside.   
     “But the king will never agree,” Sigrid protested. Out of his line of sight, Thorin heard Kili snort.   
     “He can hardly stop us from seeing Mother. And I know he has to be tired of Bard forever darkening our door, as well as every fit and able bodied man, woman, and child in the town calling to pay their respects. This will be a good opportunity to see your father and your brother, since Tilda is also still with Mother.”   
      Sigrid agreed, and Thorin pushed the door open. “Well, I see everyone gathered without me,” he said, sitting down in one of the large, comfortable chairs Sigrid had added to her room. “What are you all talking about?”   
     Tauriel shook her head, having heard him in the hall, but she kept her peace as Fili told his uncle what they had in mind.   
     “But you just saw her, less than six months ago,” Thorin pointed out. Fili sighed.   
    “Yes. How dare we want to see our mother more than once a decade. What were we thinking?”   
     “I didn't mean it that way,” Thorin protested, then frowned slightly. “But it did rather sound that way, did it not?” He sighed. “You two are really not comfortable here, are you?”   
     Fili shrugged. “It's where we live. There is plenty to see and do . . . but very little of it is inside the Mountain. So, we go out . . . and see and do . . . things.”   
     Thorin looked over the group. “I'm sure Dís will be very happy to see you all,” he said finally. “And so will Mali.” He rose. “And I shall just have to find other ways to amuse my evenings until you all return.”   
      He left, and Sigrid looked uneasy. “Maybe we should stay here,” she said softly. “Thorin doesn't strike me as the type to be very open with his feelings, but I think that he will be lonely without us.”   
     “Balin and Dwalin will keep him company,” Fili said. “Besides, it's not as if we are going to be gone for a year. Come. Since it is our last night here, the least we can all do is eat dinner with Thorin.”   
  
***   
  
    Dinner was subdued. Thorin was clearly pleased to see Fili at the family table again, but he had nothing to say to Sigrid, and he never really spoke to Tauriel if he could at all avoid it. Kili had long ago given up trying to find topics that would equally engage both his wife and his uncle, since Thorin refused to respond much beyond grunting, and only focused on his food. Sigrid was clearly uncomfortable with the silence, and kept looking at the others to see if they felt the same way. Finally, she put her fork down with a ringing clatter.   
     "Truly, what ails all of you?" she demanded. "Civilized people talk to one another when they sit down to eat!"   
     "Well, there's your first mistake," Kili said, only half joking. "We are neither civilized nor are we people."   
      Sigrid huffed. "You know what I mean, Kili." She looked at Thorin. "My lord, I know that Fili and I have not been as inclusive as I suppose we could have been this last half year, but I hope some allowance can be made for our newly married state." She paused, and Thorin looked steadily at her, his face expressionless. Finally, he nodded.   
     “Yes, I suppose some leeway can be allowed. But, I hope that you have enjoyed it, because when you all return, I have a very important announcement to make.”   
      The two couples exchanged glances. “About what?” Fili asked.   
Thorin gave his eldest nephew a fond smile. “About the future,” he said vaguely. “And yes, before you ask, it will indeed affect you all.”   
     Fili began to look uneasy. “Uncle, you know I cannot countenance riddles. Please speak plainly.”   
     Thorin shook his head. “I will disclose all when you return.” He resumed eating. "When are you leaving?"   
      "First thing in the morning, uncle," Fili said. "We will return within the week, as it is nearly harvest time for the winter crops. After the crops are in, and the summer fields are sown," He gave his wife a smile. "Erebor will be hosting it's first harvest festival."   
     “Ah, yes,” Thorin nodded, suddenly looking thoughtful. “I had forgotten that you mentioned that.”   
     “And that is why I must know what you are on about,” Fili insisted. “I need to know if your plans will effect this event, since we are hosting it jointly with Dale.”   
     “It will not have a significant effect,” Thorin assured Fili. “I assume there will be the usual round of balls and whatnot?”   
     Sigrid shook her head. “There will be a public assembly only. The people are still recovering from all the balls and events last year. Or, I may have it set up as a potluck, open to all, bring your own dish event.”   
     Thorin nodded and Tauriel grinned. “That might actually be more enjoyable,” she said eagerly. “And the dance can be held outdoors, open to all, as the weather will be warmer.”   
     The two women began eagerly discussing the possibilities for setting up the event, while Fili and Kili watched their uncle warily. Thorin offered no ideas for or against anything the ladies were discussing. If anything, he seemed to find their plans amusing; as if he were watching children planning a tea party for their dolls.   
      Fili remained uneasy for the rest of the night, and after he and Sigrid retired to their room, he asked her what she thought. Sigrid was thoughtful as she sat on the bed, Fili gently brushing out her hair.   
     “I really do not know,” she said finally. “I think whatever Thorin has in mind will have a huge impact on you and I.” She turned to face him. “Perhaps he means to have you formally installed as Crown Prince, now that we are married. Even I have noticed that your duties have increased these last six months.”   
      Fili nodded. “That would make sense,” he said slowly. “But if that is all he is considering, why not just come out and say it?”   
Sigrid scoffed quietly. “You will forgive my saying so, but Thorin is not exactly a master wordsmith.”   
     “No,” Fili agreed slowly. “But he has also never kept things from me and Kili. I am really worried.”   
      Sigrid nodded. “Me too.” She scooted over to her side of the bed. “The sooner we sleep, the sooner tomorrow comes, and that in turn puts us a day closer to our answers.”   
      Fili leaned over to kiss her. “I love you, Sigrid. Your optimism will forever keep me in good spirits.” He put out the light, but still lay awake for several hours, wondering what Thorin was planning.   
  
***   
  
     “I thought you went home,” Thorin greeted Lady Ithunn as she followed Sigrid and Tauriel into the Crown Princess's sitting room later that week. The dwarrow-dam curtsied and settled her voluminous, burgundy skirts around her legs.   
      “I did too,” she replied blandly. “And then my future queen asked me to stay and keep her company. She is very kind to consider me; how could I have possibly said no?”   
     Thorin looked her over, and nodded. “Yes, well, I am sure your father is also most happy that you are here.”   
     Lady Ithunn nodded. “Of that I have little doubt, sire.” She looked at Sigrid. “Shall I retire to my rooms, my lady?”   
      Sigrid shook her head. “No, please sit down.” She looked at Thorin. “Well, we are all returned, safe and well. Now, you promised us all a bit of news when we returned. I believe that we should all like to hear it now.”   
       Thorin sat back in his chair and regarded the couples watching him expectantly. Finally, he pulled out his pipe and took the time to light it. Tauriel watched him patiently, but she could sense Kili's growing impatience. She slowly reached over and put a gentle hand on his leg, and he stilled. Fili and Sigrid just look bored, and Lady Ithunn highly amused. Finally, Thorin got his pipe lit, and after taking a long drag, he gave his nephews a smile.   
        “I had a dream of reclaiming Erebor,” he said in a low voice. “And I have done it. We have done it. But, after being here, and seeing what all of you are considering and accomplishing, and the plans that you are making to improve Erebor, I have come to the conclusion that I am in the way.”   
       Fili went still, and Kili began frowning slightly. Tauriel and Sigrid shared a glance, and even Lady Ithunn looked shocked.   
      “Uncle,” Fili said quietly. “What are you saying?”   
     “I have failed our people. Even before we arrived here, I was already succumbing to Dragon Sickness. Fili, you and Kili were easily able to resist the temptation of the gold that . . . anchors our family . . . the direct line of Durin . . . in our position as the First of the Seven Families.   
      I . . . I wanted to recapture the past; you all want to change the future. That is what Erebor needs. The past was what lost us our home. The future will help us save it. When I got to Laketown, I . . . didn't . . . I behaved . . . badly. All I cared about was the Arkenstone. And yet, neither of you wanted anything to do with it. You two only wanted to help . . . the Men of the Lake, our people . . . even me.”   
      He looked at his nephews. Fili was pale, but composed, and Kili was looking scared. Thorin sighed, and laid his pipe in the bowl beside the chair.   
      “So, I am saying all of that, to say this; I have planned, at this little festival of yours, to announce my abdication. Fili, you are married now, and your position as my heir is secure. Before the year is out, you will be crowned King Under the Mountain.”   
  
*** 


	16. Chapter the Sixteenth

     Sigrid watched her husband pacing restlessly up and down the length of their bedroom. Periodically, he would pause, turn to her as if he were about to speak, then resume pacing. Sigrid sighed, and leaned over the arm of her chair to dig out the tunic she was sewing for Fili, and resumed the project. Finally, Fili flopped down in the seat across from his wife.   
      “Why is he doing this to us, Sigrid? I can't be king already! Durin's Beard! I just want to be your husband!”   
     Sigrid smiled. “Perhaps you can at least talk him in to waiting another six months. That will, at least, give us a year of relative peace. But it is not as if you did not know this day would come.”   
      Fili huffed. “Of course not! But never so soon!” He stood up abruptly. “Has he even spoken to Balin or Dwalin about this? What about the Counsel? Or Mother? Does she have any clue what madness Uncle is spouting?”   
      “I highly doubt it,” Sigrid said, trying to project a level of calm she did not in any way feel. She was just as shocked as Fili, but at least one of them must be the reasonable one. At least in private. “Shall I send a raven to Mirkwood on the morrow?”   
       “Yes!” Fili went to the window. “I know all about the Dragon Sickness,” he said quietly. “But he got over it. The Arkenstone is buried beyond anyone's reach, Dale and Laketown have been rebuilt, and everything is back to normal.”   
      “Obviously not,” Sigrid said quietly. “If he is talking about abdicating, then this illness effected him far more deeply than he ever let on. Perhaps he feels the draw returning, and is attempting to remove himself from the temptation before he loses control again.”   
       Fili turned to look at his wife. “I had not thought of that,” he said. He sighed. “If he does leave, where will he go? Mirkwood to annoy Thranduil? Back to Ered Luin?”   
     “Maybe he will go to Imladris,” Sigrid suggested. “That is a place of rest and comfort. Or so I have heard it said.” She half smiled. “Though, I have heard rumors about the Company's behavior while they were their the last time. But, I have also heard that Lord Elrond is very forgiving.”   
      Fili laughed. “Perhaps. But Thorin is not, and he hates elves.”   
     “But, what better place to go to escape a temptation?” Sigrid asked. “Other than King Thranduil, no elf I have ever met cares for jewels and riches. Thorin can rest his mind there, and perhaps, because he would be so close by, he might be willing to return one day.”   
     Fili nodded, still facing the window. “Yes, I suppose. But I do not feel at all ready to lead. All my life, I have been told that I would one day be a king; that I was descended from kings. I looked up to Thorin, and in many ways, I wanted to be like him. But I never really thought that I would be ruling a real, physical kingdom. I thought that my responsibilities to my people would be fulfilled in Ered Luin.” He sighed and slowly returned to his chair.   
     “I suppose I liked the almost sadly romantic, but heroic idea of keeping the dwarrow of Erebor-in-Exile in peace, with a melancholy hope of finally returning home.”   
     Sigrid smiled slightly. “And then Thorin made it happen. And now, you must fulfill the contract you were born to.”   
       Fili nodded. “I am not afraid of that,” he said, his tone resolved. “I am honestly more concerned with failing that contract. Balin taught me what he could to make me a diplomat, Thorin and Dwalin trained me to be a warrior, and Mother did what she could to make me a gentle man. But is all that enough to make me a good king?”   
      Sigrid laid aside her sewing, and knelt at her husband's feet, putting them at eye level.   
      “You are indeed ready, my husband. My father is a good leader, not because he sought out the position, but because he cares about what will happen to his people if he fails. The Master was not, because he only cared about himself. You remember; he was even willing to abandon Alfrid, his only companion, when times grew their darkest.   
      You are not that man. You have compassion, and strength. You have been tested in life and in battle, and now, you have me beside you. I swore to assume half of your burden in this life, just as you did for me. I will be beside you, Fili, for as long as I can.”   
       Fili leaned forward and gave her a kiss. “I love you, Sigrid. And somehow, between you, me, Tauriel, and Kili, we will prevail.”   
  
***   
  
  
      Fili and his brother were much subdued two days later as they followed Thorin into the Council chambers. Even with the harvest underway, Fili knew he needed to be present when Thorin made his announcement. He needed to see for himself the first, genuine reactions of the Council. That would be essential in determining who would be dismissed, and who would remain when Fili formed his own government.   
       Behind them, Lady Dís, hastily summoned from Mirkwood, Tauriel, and Sigrid marched in, in formal Court dress. The three royal ladies took their seats in rank order from left to right behind Thorin. The councilors grumbled softly as the ladies were seated, but did not ask why they were there.   
       After the dwarrow had settled themselves at the table, Thorin took a long, silent moment to look over the group. Finally, he laid the notebook he was carrying on the table and slowly opened it.   
       “As usual, nothing that is said in this room should be discussed unnecessarily outside of this room. Now—”   
       “Sire,” Bragi, son of Darri, interrupted Thorin. “If discretion is called for, should not . . . _they_ . . . be dismissed?” he asked, gesturing in the general direction of the ladies. Dwalin's eyebrow rose, and he sat back in his chair. Balin frowned.   
        “They?” Balin asked, his voice cold. “Of whom are you speaking?”   
        “Them!” Bragi pointed at Sigrid and Tauriel. “Everyone knows that females cannot keep their traps shut.”   
       Fili and Kili exchanged brief glances and Dís' eyebrow rose. Thorin didn't even look at him.   
       “You will beg the pardon of Queen Dís,” he said coldly. “The Crown Princess, and the Princess Royal.”   
       Bragi's eyes darted over the ladies for a moment, then he got to his feet, and offered them a stiff bow. He started to sit, but a brief look passed between Thorin and Dwalin, and the tall, tattooed dwarf rose, and forcibly ejected Bragi from the room. Dwalin returned, and Thorin began shuffling papers as if nothing had happened.   
        “There is some old business to attend to,” he said calmly. “But first, I have an announcement to make. In six months time, I will be formally renouncing my kingship of the Kingdom of Erebor.” Thorin held up his hand for silence before the Councilors could start murmuring or protesting.   
        “As we all know, Smaug's attack on the mountain killed my bride-to-be, and Mahal has not seen fit to place another such exceptional dwarrow-dam in my path. My oldest nephew, Prince Fili, has long been groomed as my Heir, and I now believe that he is ready to face the challenges of kingship.”   
       He looked over the room, and mostly shocked faces greeted him. Fili and Kili were still staring straight ahead, and Dwalin was frowning.   
      “And where will you go?” the soldier asked. Thorin looked thoughtful.   
      “I haven't decided yet,” he said finally. “It will not be far; I dislike being away from my family. But it will not be so close that attempts can be made to reinstate me, either. Prince Fili will be an independent king, and I think, a great one.   
       I will make the announcement publicly during the harvest festival. In the fall, I will make a full, formal abdication, and Fili will be crowned in my place.” Thorin glanced back at Sigrid. “There will be a new king and a new queen in Erebor.”   
       Everyone at the table except Fili and Kili looked at the human woman.   
       “There may be some protests,” Dwalin said in a low voice. Lady Dís shook her head.   
      “There will not,” she said firmly. “If power must be ceded so soon, it will be done peaceably. Mirkwood and Dale would see it done.”   
      “And Lothlórien,” Tauriel added. “Imladris, Gondor, Rohan, the Iron Hills. All trade in the East must pass through our realm. All Middle-Earth would see such a transition happen smoothly.”   
       “There may be delegates from all the Free Kingdoms in attendance,” Thorin said. “Let us display Erebor at her best, not her worst.”   
  
***   
  
       Balin had always been frustrated by the fact that Thorin had refused to set any formal time-line for his coronation, but now that Fili was to take his uncle's place, planning began in earnest. Nothing could really be done publicly before the announcement was made, but Balin and Ori spent many hours combing through old books, looking for anything that had been written about previous coronations. The disadvantage to living for hundreds of years, was that each time a new king was installed, no-one alive now could recall or knew what had gone before. The gap between kings that Smaug's arrival had created did not help matters either.   
       Balin even turned to Tauriel for help as well; she and Thranduil had been guests at Thror's crowning, almost 600 years ago. Sadly, Tauriel did not remember much, but Thranduil was more helpful. He had the notes his secretary had jotted down at the time, and his former queen, Eril, had written extensively about the ceremony in her journal, as she had found the whole affair fascinating. Ori hurried off to Mirkwood, and spent several days carefully copying these sources, and taking down Thranduil's recollections, while Balin wrote to Lord Elrond, recalling that the Imladris lord had mentioned knowing Thror when he was king.   
       Dís sat down with her daughters-in-law and their ladies-in-waiting and began planning the logistics of food preparation, extra staff, guest lists, and dressmakers. Thorin alone carried on with business as usual, though everyone noticed that he seemed far more relaxed than he had ever been. Dís was silently frustrated with her oldest brother. She had always harbored, quietly, a hope that Thorin would marry one day, and free her sons from any obligation to the throne, and now that hope, which had been growing steadily more faint with each passing year, was well and truly dead.   
        Fili and Kili threw themselves into the harvest and tried to ignore everything and everyone else. Sigrid struggled with her daily growing worry as she watched Fili pulling away from her emotionally and physically. She tried to stay up at night, to await his return, but he seemed to know, and never came back before she had finally fallen asleep in her chair. Sigrid was hurt that her husband did not feel as if she were enough support to get them through this equally stressful time for everyone. She finally broke down and went to talk to Tauriel.   
        “Has Kili been avoiding you?” she asked the elf as they prepared for yet another tedious dress fitting. This one was for the reception following the coronation. They each had four new gowns to wear over the course of the two day event.   
        Tauriel frowned slightly at Sigrid's question, and sitting behind them, Lady Ithunn looked up.   
      “No,” Tauriel said slowly. “He hasn't been avoiding me, but then again, our husbands have a very different set of responsibilities about to descend on them. And Fili has always struck me as the sort to internalize everything.”   
      Sigrid huffed. “That's exactly what he's doing,” she grumbled, then her face fell. “We're supposed to be a team; we are partners in this. Why does he not understand that? Our people will respond to me the way he does, and as it stands, I will be ignored, pushed aside, and utterly dismissed!”   
       Tauriel hesitated for a moment, then pulled her sister-in-law in for a hug. “You need to be telling Fili this, not me.” She set the human girl away from her. “Do you know where he is right now?”   
       Sigrid nodded. “He's in the Lower Field, with Kili, getting in the last of the fodder for the winter stores.”   
      Tauriel nodded. “Then, forget about this stupid fitting. Go down there, grab him by an ear, and drag him off. Don't let him escape until he hears what you have to say.”   
       Sigrid shook her head. “I cannot humiliate him like that in front of his brother and his peers.”   
       Lady Ithunn snorted. “Dwarrow-dams do that sort of thing all the time. His brother and his so called peers will tease him about it when it is all over, but there is no harm in it. We are assertive; that is our way.”   
       Sigrid looked slightly shocked. “My people are taught that a wife is subordinate to her husband; his word is law.”   
      “Well, that's a load of manure,” Lady Ithunn replied. “And not at all the dwarrow way.”   
      The Crown Princess nodded, and turned towards the door, then hesitated.   
     “Go!” Lady Ithunn and Tauriel urged in unison. “And don't let him get away until he listens to all you have to say.”   
      Sigrid departed, and Lady Ithunn looked at Tauriel. “Do Men really fill their daughters' heads with such nonsense?”   
      Tauriel nodded. “Since time out of mind,” she sighed. “I'm sure Bard did not consciously instill that lack of self-worth in his daughters, but a few well placed words from even a respected stranger can sow the seeds of doubt. She will have a long road to travel to get over that.”   
  
*** 


	17. Chapter the Seventeenth

      Fili helped his brother heave another load of fodder into the collection wagon, and ran a grimy hand over his already dirt streaked face. He gave Kili a slight smile.   
     “I cannot tell you how much I will miss this,” Fili told him. “I think I could stay out here forever, and be quite content doing honest, hard work.”   
     Kili shook his head. “It is hard, I'll grant you that. I cannot say that I am with you on doing this forever though. Besides, who is to say that you cannot continue in this vein. Erebor's first Farmer King.”   
     Fili rolled his eyes. “Please. You know as well as I do that such a thing will never stand.” He sighed. “Besides, it's been so long since there has been a Durin king that I must reset all the precedents, follow all the rules.”   
     “Or make your own,” Kili said, glancing over his brother's shoulder. Fili turned, and saw his wife marching towards him in a most determined manner. Fili glanced at his brother.   
    “Tell Sigrid—” he started, but Kili put a firm, restraining hand on his brother's arm.   
    “She is your wife! Avoiding her services no-one. And do not tell me that you have not; you always withdraw when Thorin is putting pressure on you. I always put up with it as long as I could, and then you and I would fight, and that would be the end of it. You cannot do that with my sister, and avoiding her won't make it better.”   
      Sigrid stopped behind Fili, and hesitated for a moment, noticing Kili's restraining hand on her husband. She took a breath, and marched forward, grabbing his other arm.   
     “We need to talk,” she said in a carrying voice. “And I would prefer to not do it here.” She paused as Fili tried to pull away, and the rest of the dwarrow in ear shot looked up, curious about this little drama.   
    “On second thought, perhaps we ought to do it here, since you will not speak to me at home.”   
     The nearby dwarrow began sniggering, and Fili flushed. Kili released his brother and took a step back. Sigrid put her hands on her hips.   
    “For weeks now—” she started in a carrying tone, and Fili took her by the arm and began pulling her a little further away.   
     They were well out of earshot when Sigrid broke free of his grasp, and began gesturing wildly, drawing herself up to loom over Fili — no mean feat as there was only eight inches difference in their heights. Kili watched them for a moment, then Fili began moving out of sight, Sigrid still ranting at him. Behind Kili, the sniggering turned to outright laughter.   
    “Well, it seems our new princess isn't the wilting flower everyone assumed her to be,” someone said, and Kili shook his head, and looked around for the pitchfork Fili had been using. Fili had his own issues to deal with, and there was more grass to get in.   
  
***   
  
      “I am your wife! Do not turn your back on me, Fili, Son of Garin! You will stand and listen to what I have to say!”   
Fili stopped walking and turned to glare at Sigrid. “What did you say?” he demanded.   
     “You will listen to me,” Sigrid ground out. “I did not come here to argue with you. For weeks, I have been waiting for you to come to me; to talk to me, to confide in me. The first night that Thorin made his outrageous declaration, we talked. Only then.   
     In the weeks since, I have watched you pull further and further away from me. If I wanted to be alone, I would have stayed at home with Da! I chose to come here, to be at your side, no matter what, no matter the situation!   
     Do you honestly think that I am feeling good about any of this mess that Thorin is dumping on us? Yes, I sit with Mother and Tauriel and our ladies and make plans and arrangements, but that is my duty, as your wife! Do not, for even one instance assume that any of us are enjoying this, because we are not! Mother is so angry at Thorin right now she could kill him. Tauriel is about to be come Crown Princess, a role she has had little to no preparation for, and Holy Valar!   
    I am about to be crowned Queen! Queen, Fili! Do you understand at all what that means, because I damn sure don't! I do not know what is expected of me, aside from producing an Heir! I do not know how I should comport myself, what my new duties will be; who I may know, to whom may I speak?   
      I need you beside me to help me, and you have been going out of your way to avoid me.”   
     Sigrid paused to take a breath. “I vowed to be your partner, Fili. Your friend, your confidant. Your right arm. If, however, you cannot bring yourself to trust in me, and come to me, in what I feel is going to be the least stressful point on this road that Thorin has set us upon, then say so. Speak now, so that I can retreat with what dignity I have left.   
    I will return to Dale, and advise Da to seek another husband for me in the East or in the far South. Somewhere where no-one has yet heard of this — of us, and will not think the worst of me.”   
    Fili sighed. “Sigrid, I . . . I've just had a lot on my mind, and—”   
   “And I have not?” She demanded. “I have spent a dozen nights or more waiting for you to come home. First for dinner, and when the food started to go to waste, I hoped maybe you might just want to at least talk, but you have found every possible way to stay away until you knew I could not stay awake any longer, and then you return. If that is not avoidance, what is?”   
    Fili looked away. “I did not know.”   
    Sigrid's posture collapsed for a moment, then she sighed. “Very well. I demand that you relinquish me, Fili. Publicly. I'm sure Thorin will be thrilled. I will not stay here and be lied to and pushed aside. I can be treated as an after thought among my own people.”   
     “You are not an after thought!” Fili reached forward to grab Sigrid's wrist as she turned to walk away. She hissed in pain, and he released her instantly.   
     “I am sorry,” he told her in a low voice. “I . . . I'm used to brooding alone. And you . . . seemed to be dealing so well with all of this! And Mother was there with you . . . I was sure you would be fine.”   
     “But I'm not!” Sigrid exclaimed angrily.   
    “You were so calm that first night,” Fili rushed on. “I was feeling trapped and tied up, and you were the picture of calm. You just sewed and carried on like everything was normal. I was sure that you were happy with everything that was about to happen—”   
    “Fili!” Sigrid cut him off. “How often did I write to you, telling you how much I loathed the thought of being royal? How many? If you had bothered to sit with me, if you knew me at all, then you would know that I respond to stress by focusing on something mindless.   
     You were ranting like a madman that night. What good would it have done for both of us to be in that state?”   
    Fili opened his mouth to reply, then flushed and looked away. “Sigrid . . . I'm sorry. You are right; I am being a selfish ass. You have said it before; I was brought up to this; you were not. You are living among an alien Race, with little insight into our ways, and you must be the Mother of the Country.”   
     “I am used to exuding calm, even as those around me are breaking down, Fili. That does not mean that I am calm.” She turned to walk away, and Fili groaned.   
     “Wait, Sigrid. Please, wait.” He hugged her from behind, and Sigrid tried to push him away, but he was far stronger than she was, and refused to be moved.   
     “I love you,” he said quietly. “I cannot do without you. I will try harder to be there for you. For us. I don't know why I expected that you would just figure all this out on your own, but it was an unfair assumption to make. Unfair to you, to me, and to our people.”   
     He pressed his forehead into her back. “When Thorin makes his announcement, all of us must present a unified front to the world. If you go, it may gratify Thorin in the short term, but it will harm Erebor in the long run — I cannot remarry, no matter what you choose to do.”   
     He said something quietly in Khuzdul that Sigrid did not understand, then pulled away.   
     “I will try to do better,” he told her quietly.   
    “What did you just say?” She asked, feeling slightly more calm. Fili offered her a slight smile.   
    “A promise, my queen. A promise.”   
  
***   
  
     Kili was not surprised that Fili did not return that afternoon, and only Thorin looked disgruntled when the couple sent their apologies for not joining the family for dinner. Several days passed before the couple reappeared, but harmony between them had been restored, and they began taking a more active interest in the coronation plans. Ori returned from the Woods with Queen Eril's notes, and he and Balin sequestered themselves in the library to review them. Fili was at first, irritated that he was not included in these discussions, but Ori came by the apartment from time to time to reassure Fili that he would be involved as soon as they were able to make sense of the details.   
    The harvest still needed to be gathered, and the summer fields sown, and Sigrid turned her attention, for the moment, back to the festival. Merchants began arriving, with the goods they wanted to sell, from Mirkwood and Dale, and the dwarves from the mountain began setting up their stalls and booths.   
    Sigrid, Tauriel, and Dís were going nonstop from morning to night to prepare, managing food, seating, and other logistical challenges. Kili came to offer his carpentry services, helping to build the low stage where a few plays were to be performed and Thorin would make his big announcement.   
     The day of the festival, everyone in Erebor rose early, and by noon, the valley between Erebor and Dale was full of mingling people, buying, selling, listening to music, dancing, and playing games. Children were running about, looking at the various entertainments, playing on the merry-go-round, and eating sweets.   
      Sigrid and Fili finally slipped away for a few private minutes, to mentally prepare themselves for Thorin's big announcement.   
     "Dearest, I must say, I feel as if today is coming together rather well. I think next year, we need to add a day to this," Fili told his wife.   
     Sigrid groaned, and leaned down to kiss Fili. "Let's just get through today. Please?" She tugged him behind the stables of the Grand Lady, and settled on the grass. He sat with her and sighed.   
     "Are you ready?" He asked, and she shook her head.   
    "No. And I doubt I ever will be," she sighed. "I know that Thorin doesn't care for me or Tauriel, but I'd like to think that he would have developed some little bit of toleration of us, over time. But now, he is leaving before that can ever happen. I want to love your family, but the most important person in it won't --"   
     "Dearest, Thorin doesn't hate you or Tauriel. He just takes time to adjust to things," Fili soothed.   
    "And now he is running away before he can." She frowned slightly. "Valar! I sound like I'm pouting." She closed her eyes for a moment, then gave Fili a bright smile. "But, perhaps, he won't go too far away. And without the pressure of being king, perhaps he will have more time to . . . adjust."   
     Fili chuckled and kissed her hand. "I love you, Sigrid. I'm sorry I haven't been there lately as I should, but I'm trying to do better."   
Before she could reply, Kili's voice carried towards them. "Fili! Siggy! Thorin's getting ready."   
     The couple exchanged a speaking look and they got to their feet. Kili was waiting for them as they rounded the stable.   
     "Ah! There you are. Come on, Thorin is waiting for us."   
  
***   
  
     Thorin looked out over the gathered crowd of Men, elves, and dwarves, all watching him as he prepared to make his announcement. The children were still running and playing, not really caring what the adults were about. To his left, he saw his family approaching, ready to join him when he gave the signal. Balin was standing off to his right, Ori at his side, and he knew, without looking, that Dwalin was behind him. Finally, he moved to the front of the stage, and the crowd began cheering.   
     He nodded, acknowledging them, then raised his hands for silence. The crowd grew louder for a moment, then got quiet.   
     "I hope that everyone is enjoying themselves at Erebor's first annual --I hope-- summer harvest festival," he began in a carrying voice. More cheering rose from the crowd, and a few dwarves raised their beer tankards in salute.   
      "This wonderful event has been a joint effort with Dale and the Greenwood, and all was brought together through the combined efforts of my nephews, Princes Fili and Kili, their wives, Lady Tauriel and Lady Sigrid, and my sister, Queen Dís from the Greenwood."   
     More cheering rose from the Men and dwarves, and there were a few nods of acknowledgment from the elves.   
     "I hope that next year, I will be amoung you, taking part more fully, in a even bigger event." He paused and glanced at Fili and Kili, who were looking stoic. He turned back to the crowd. "I have chosen this moment to make a very important announcement."   
     The crowd grew quiet, and were almost leaning forward, straining to hear his every word.   
     "This fall, Erebor will host it's first coronation in nearly 600 years."   
     The crowd cheered again, and Thorin glanced at Fili, who took Sigrid's hand, and joined his uncle on the stage.   
     "Erebor! Men of Dale! Your new king and queen; Fili, son of Dís and Sigrid, daughter of Bard!"   
     A low, surprised murmur rolled through the crowd for a moment, as people looked at each other, searching for assurance that they had all heard what they thought they heard. The elves were the first to begin applauding, then the dwarves and Men joined them. Sigrid squeezed Fili's hand, trying to quell her nervousness as the applause became cheering.   
     Fili nodded to the crowd, and Sigrid smiled shyly. Thorin gave the couple a huge smile.   
     "Fili, I know that you and Lady Sigrid will do well for our people." He offered them a low bow, and the people's cheering rose in volume. After a few minutes, they all left the stage, and Fili was shocked at how many people surged around them, offering them congratulations and good wishes.   
      Thorin slipped away, and returned to the Mountain. He had a formal speech to write and a coronation to help plan.   
  
***   
  



	18. Chapter the Eighteenth

       The arrival of Lord Elrond's letter was the start of Fili's inclusion in the planning, and he insisted that Sigrid be by his side.   
        “I have made a decision,” Fili told Balin and the other gathered councilors.        “Princess Sigrid will be crowned with me; this will be a duel monarchy.”   
Balin was speechless, and Thorin looked surprised. Ori nodded and peered at his notes again.   
       “While there is no precedent for a ruling queen,” he said aloud, but half to himself. “There is no reason why a few tweaks to a word here and there can't be made . . . let's see . . . 'princely virtue' doesn't have to apply to a gender . . . so that can stay . . .” He continued making notes and muttering, and Balin looked at Fili.   
      “You cannot be serious.”   
      “I can,” Fili said firmly. “And I am. Princess Sigrid is the daughter of a king. She will be queen, no matter what, but there will be times when I must be away.” He looked at Kili who was trying and failing to suppress a happy grin. “Prince Kili will be here, of course, but who better than my own wife to know my mind, and rule rightly in my stead? Yet, everyone will look at Prince Kili to confirm her choices, as if she is incapable of thinking on her own.   
     No, sir. I will not have it. Princess Sigrid will be crowned, and our rule will be a joint one.” He looked at the other people in the room. “And if I am blessed with daughters, but no sons, should they be passed over in the line of succession based solely on their gender?   
      Again, sir, I will not have it. The Men of the West learned centuries ago that daughters tend to make better rulers than sons. I demand this, and will not take the crown without it.”   
     Balin groaned softly, but Thorin nodded and sat back to look at his advisers, who had turned pleading eyes to him.   
     “Don't look at me; I am no longer the king. But tell me gentlemen, who among you would argue that Queen Dís would not have made a formidable ruler in her own right? And yet, she has been passed over in favor of her own sons – men she herself has raised to be kings.”   
     Balin sighed and nodded. “Indeed. I suppose it is illogical — mothers raise and teach our sons, yet have no power of their own, except through their sons.”   
     Fili nodded once. “Then we are agreed. Now, there is no crown for a ruling queen, so I have taken the liberty of drawing up a few crude sketches . . .”   
  
***   
  
    “It looks heavy,” Sigrid breathed, circling the mannequin where her coronation gown stood proudly. “It truly is a work of art, though.” She ran her fingers lightly over the heavily embroidered silver fabric of the outer dress. For weeks now, the seamstress, Madam Runa, and her assistants had been embellishing the silver brocade with abstract vines, leaves, and cameos, using real silver and white gold thread. The inside of the sleeves were lined with wine red silk, and the damask under kirtle was embroidered in white gold thread with Fili's crest.   
     Her only jewels were to be her wedding ring, and a pearl necklace and earring set, with an unusual red and blue swirled stone the dwarves had recently discovered. They were calling it Dragon's Breath, and while she wasn't thrilled with the name, the set had arrived only days before from the Miners' Guild as a coronation gift, and Sigrid knew she must wear it, or risk the highest insult.   
     She looked at Madam Runa. “This is far and away the most beautiful thing I have ever owned,” she told the dwarrowdam sincerely. “It is a pity I will only get to wear it once.” She ran her hand over the red silk again and sighed. “So, this one is for the official ceremony, correct? And what will I be wearing for the feasting afterwards?”   
     Madam Runa then showed Sigrid a plain blue velvet dress, edged at the neck and waist in gold ribbon, sapphires, and four-squares of pearls. There was a matching double necklace of pearls and sapphires, and small lace cuffs edged the fitted sleeves. This made Sigrid smile. The dress was simple, but regal, and would allow her to seem a bit more approachable.   
     “I love this one, too,” Sigrid breathed.   
     “And there is a cap,” the seamstress told her. She took out a heart shaped headdress, trimmed with gold ribbon and spikes of pearls. It was gathered into a hollow cone at the back, where a veil of pale blue linen was attached. Sigrid was delighted.   
    “I can use this as a Court Gown afterwards,” she sighed. “You have all truly out done yourself. Thank you.”   
     The seamstress bowed and Sigrid departed. Madam Runa's was just one stop of many today. Next, she went to see the tailor making Fili's clothes – a silver brocade tunic and matching breeches. The chest of the tunic was embellished in silver thread with the Durin Crest, and a heavy looking gold belt and collar of pearl and gold would complete his coronation suit.   
      Satisfied with everyone's progress, Sigrid went to join her mother-in-law, and other attendants to practice the dances she and Fili would be performing at the ball. Between lessons, there was still a Household to run, calls to be made and accepted, and at some point, she and Fili were going to try and spend a few minutes in each others company.   
     Sigrid paused to look at the watch she had pinned to her bodice and huffed a sigh. She had spent too long with her dressmakers, and was now running late. She huffed again and picked up the pace. Just six weeks to go, and it felt like years.   
  
  
***   
  
      “Fili, it's late,” Sigrid tried to keep the whine out of her voice as her husband eagerly led her through the mountain. She had no real clue as to where exactly they were, because Fili had insisted on her being blindfolded.   
      “I know, Dearest. This won't take very long. I promise.”   
      She huffed, but he kept up his brisk pace, and they soon arrived in a vast, echoing space. Sigrid frowned and tilted her head, listening to the echoes. She smiled slightly.   
      “Why are we in the throne room?” she asked. It was Fili's turn to huff.   
      “You said you couldn't see,” he groused. She laughed.   
      “I can't. But I've been in this room often in the last six months. I know it's sounds. Or, at least I was. I've been kept out for the last few weeks. What's going on?”   
      Fili reached up and removed the blindfold. “I've been working on a surprise for you, Dearest.”   
     “Oh?” Sigrid still had her eyes closed. “Can I look?”   
     “Please.” Fili turned her slightly, and Sigrid opened her eyes.   
     For the most part, the room looked much as it always had; the heads of the statues in the Gallery of the Kings below loomed over the reigning monarch in silent judgment. She turned to look at the throne. The vast stalactite that had been carved into the throne was still there, and looked as imposing as ever, but through some art Sigrid could not discern, the platform on which it sat had been widened, and a second, equally sized, free standing throne had been placed beside it. While it lacked the sheer visual impact of emerging from the roof, the intricate designs carved into it were still striking, and Sigrid couldn't hold back a gasp.   
     “Do you like it?” Fili asked eagerly.   
      Sigrid shook her head. “I . . . I don't understand.”   
     Fili grinned. “I have been keeping you out, my love, because I have been preparing a place for you.” He took her hand and led her up the stairs to the second throne. “Please, sit. This is intended for you.”   
Sigrid cautiously lowered herself into the seat. “But, the queen's seat is usually behind, and slightly off--”   
     “Not yours,” Fili said firmly. “I have been working on making the necessary adjustments to the law; I am king after all. Or I will be. And you, my dearest Sigrid, you will rule at my side. Not behind, but beside. We will be co-consorts. You will be a queen in your own right.”   
     He held up a hand to forestall her protests as she opened her mouth. “This is not just for you. Think; if we have a daughter, and Kili has a son, as the law stands, my nephew would have First Claim to the throne, not our child. She would be nothing. With these changes, she can be queen, married or not.”   
     Sigrid scoffed, shaking her head. “And if our theoretical daughter marries, what then becomes of her rule?”   
    “It remains,” Fili said. “Co-rule only applies to boys. Girls will have non-ruling consorts. They get to choose their own husbands after all. Why should that man then outrank them?”   
    Sigrid sat back and laughed. “So, you are not to be the Farmer King as Kili insists, but the Radical instead? Fili, that will never be allowed to stand. But I love you for thinking it could be that way, someday.”   
     Fili huffed. “Well, if you don't support me, no-one will.”   
    “I never said I don't support you,” Sigrid corrected him. “I said the idea is a radical one, and will be vehemently opposed on all sides.”   
    She sat forward and pulled him closer for a kiss. “But, if we do have that theoretical daughter, or niece, by the time she is old enough to rule, the old guard will have passed, and the younger generation may be ready to accept a change.”   
   Fili returned the kiss. “Then I won't stop fighting for it,” he told her. “Now, will you be my co-consort?”   
    “Yes, of course.”   
    “Good,” He kissed her again, and dragged her to her feet. “Now, I think we've earned a day or two of hooky, to work on that theoretical daughter, don't you think?”   
    Sigrid flushed and followed Fili out of the throne room. “I really just want to sleep,” she sighed. She glanced over her shoulder at the second throne, and felt even more tired than ever. She turned back to her husband. He was watching her intently.   
    “I need you beside me, Sigrid,” he told her in a low voice. “I cannot do without you.”   
    “And I will be here as long as I can,” she told him, taking a firmer grip on his hand. “Come on. We must sleep; if a daughter is to come, one more night won't put her off.”   
  
***   
  
    Tradition, according to all the paperwork Balin and Ori had gathered, demanded that all the observances around the coronation take place in the Gallery of the Kings, where none but those of the most noble, and privileged blood could bear witness to its magic and mystery, but Fili had gotten so sick and tired of hearing that word. Tradition. To him, it spoke too strongly of clinging desperately to a past the had long ago been swept away. If tradition was indeed to be the word of the day, he wanted to plant some new ones of his own.  
     It was only a week until the ceremony, and the venue was still undecided. Meanwhile, every inn from Laketown to the Grand Lady was filled to capacity, and Erebor itself was straining at the seams. People were camping out in then valley itself, hopeful of catching even a glimpse of the ceremony. Kili watched his brother restlessly pacing the length of the meeting room, while Balin continued on about a few chairs here and there, for the feeble and infirm. Kili glanced at Ori, who was also watching Fili.   
      He was to take Balin's place as chief adviser to the new king, and he had a feeling he rather understood Fili far better than Balin at that moment. He cleared his throat.   
      “If I may, Mr. Balin . . . I believe the king has an idea . . .”   
      Fili gave Ori an approving glance. “I do indeed. Royal blood or no, I and my lady wife were born among the people, and will be ruling for the people. In order for that to happen effectively, the people must know their king. The coronation should be held outside, before the Doors of the Mountain, in sight of the city of Dale, and all the surrounding countryside.”   
      Balin looked horrified. “But Sire, how do you propose ---”   
     “I'm glad you asked.” Fili marched over to Kili and scooped up the paper Kili held out to him. “Prince Kili has already designed a raised platform that can quickly be put up before the Doors, and Mother has already made a seating chart for the more important guests.”   
     He turned back to his brother. “Nothing will change but the location. I want to be outside, in the sun, breathing real air as I take my oaths. Kili, how soon to completion?”   
     “Most of the prefabrication is already done,” Kili answered right away. “It's just a matter of putting it together, like a puzzle. Five days, tops.”   
     “Wonderful! Get started. Now.”   
     Kili bowed and rushed out of the room, and Balin shook his head.   
    “I think you really are trying to kill me, young man,” the older dwarf lamented.   
     Fili laughed. “No, Balin, I'm not. But someone did remind me that it was tradition that drove us out of our homes. We broke the rules to get it back. Now, we must bend a few more to keep it.”   
  
*** 


	19. Chapter the Ninteenth

         When the day arrived, the valley before Erebor was packed with Men, elves, and dwarrow. The air of calm solemnity that Balin had hoped for was not there. The occasion felt more like a faire, or a festival, and the people gathered were excited by the thought of playing some small role in the crowning of their new king and queen. Sellers moved through the crowd with trays of drinks, snacks, and hastily put together souvenirs.   
         The raised stage that Kili had designed, had been built to host the ceremony so that all gathered could see and hear. Seated to the right of the two thrones where Fili and Sigrid would take their place as the new rulers, Kings Bard and Thranduil, Lord Elrond of Rivendell, and Bilbo Baggins of the Shire, sat in places of honour. Princes Legolas and Bain sat with their fathers, while Tilda, in conjunction with Tauriel, attended on Sigrid.   
Queen Dís, and now officially former king Thorin Oakenshield, were seated to the left of the royal thrones. Dís would normally sit with her husband, but she was to play a major part in the ceremony, so it was easier to have her separated. Balin had advised against Thorin attending, but he refused to miss this pivotal moment in his nephew's life. Beside them, Kili was doing his best to suppress a proud smile.   
        At a silent signal from Balin, as Master of Ceremonies, trumpeters began playing to announce the imminent arrival of the new queen, and the crowd rose to their feet to cheer her on as Sigrid passed. Her focus was mainly on making it to the dais and up the stairs, without falling. She had suspected her dress would be heavy, the addition of a velvet, fur trimmed cape wasn't helping.   
       Sigrid stopped at the steps to the dais, and moving slightly to the side, waited. The cheering rose in volume for a moment, drowning out the music, then the crowd grew quiet. Balin, who had been waiting on the dais, stepped forward, blocking further egress up the stairs. He nodded to the trumpeters, and they raised their instruments. The crowd grew more still.   
      "Good people of Erebor: greet your new king!"   
      Trumpets played again, and everyone bowed, and Sigrid dropped into a deep curtsy. The seated royals arose as Fili slowly marched towards the dais. His wavy blond hair was loose, except for two braids framing his face, and his head was bare. Around his shoulders, he too wore a thick, heavy black cape, trimmed at the neck and hem with thick, brown wolf fur and embellished at the edges with a wide gold band, where the crest of the Line of Durin was worked in gold and black thread.   
       Fili slowly made his way to the dais. He stopped beside Sigrid, and looked up at her, and she gave him a small, encouraging smile. The interaction lasted less than a second, and no-one noticed. He took a breath and focused on the task before him.   
       This was really happening. Thorin had really abdicated, recusing himself, and any of his potential future heirs from succeeding to the throne, except in dire emergency. Fili was going to be king, Sigrid would be his co-ruler, and until or if they had a child, Kili automatically became Crown Prince and the Heir Presumptive.   
       Balin nodded to Fili and turned to address the crowd over Fili and Sigrid's head. Trumpets sounded, and the people grew silent.   
      "Good people of Erebor, you see before you Fili, Son of Dís of the Line of Durin, who seeks to be anointed your rightful and undoubted king. All you who are gathered this day to do your homage and service, are you willing for the same?"   
       The crowd answered in one voice: "Long Live King Fili!"   
       Balin continued: "Before you also stands Sigrid, Daughter of Bard of the Line of Girion, who seeks to be anointed your rightful and undoubted queen. All you who are gathered this day to do your homage and service, are you willing for the same?"   
        Again the crowd answered in one voice: "Long Live Queen Sigrid!"   
        Balin scanned the crowd as the trumpets played again. "Fili, Son of Dís and Sigrid, Daughter of Bard, are you willing to accept the mantle of Anointed Sovereigns, rulers of the kingdom of Erebor and Defenders of the realm?"   
        Fili and Sigrid answered together. "We are."   
        Balin nodded, and stepped aside, allowing them to ascend the stairs, hand in hand. "Then step you forward, and swear."   
      Fili and Sigrid walked to the middle of the stage and turned to face the crowd.   
       Fili began in a carrying voice: "Before all you here assembled, I swear. First, that the Kingdom of Erebor and all her people will know true peace, and at all times, fair justice. Second, that I will forbid all extortion, and all kinds of wrongdoing, to all orders of men. Third, that I will join equity and mercy in all judgment."   
       Sigrid repeated the pledge, and while they were vowing, Tilda, Tauriel, and Dís had left their seats and come forward, bearing two black and gold trimmed velvet pillows, a long gold spoon, and a gold carafe, carved to resemble a raven, the royal birds of Erebor. They stopped behind the couple and waited as Sigrid finished speaking.   
The couple turned in unison, taking a step back. Tilda and Tauriel put down the pillows before they stepped back several paces. Dís moved in front of them, still bearing the raven carafe. Balin too moved back to give the couple room.   
       "Your Majesties, please kneel." They complied, and Balin continued. "Do you solemnly promise and swear to rule this kingdom of Erebor and all the dominions in its protection?"   
        "I solemnly promise so to do," Fili and Sigrid answered together.   
        "Will you, to the utmost of your power, cause law, and justice, and mercy to be executed in all your judgments?"   
        "I will," they said.   
        "Will you, to the utmost of your power, maintain the Peace of the Seven Families, honour the Will of Mahal, and all the Holy Valar, and stay true to the teachings of Durin, your Forefather?"   
       "All this I promise to do," Fili and Sigrid answered in unison.   
Balin nodded and turned to Dís, taking the carafe and spoon. He poured some oil from the carafe, and handed it back to Dís. He then went to Fili and poured the oil over his bowed head. Dís stepped forward again, and Balin repeated the process for Sigrid. When he was finished, he turned and gave the spoon back to Dís, who passed them off to Lady Ithunn. She then went to retrieve the royal emblems, which were laid out on a gold tray on a nearby table, covered over with a purple velvet cloth.   
        "These things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep, with Durin's Mercy and Mahal's steadying Hand," Fili swore, his voice was strong and sure, betraying none of the nervousness he was truly feeling. Sigrid repeated the vow, and wondered as she did so, how the people of Erebor really felt about a human female being granted equal status with their new king.   
         When she was finished, Fili reached for her hand, and they rose to their feet together. Balin took up the pillows and Tilda and Tauriel came forward to accept them. Fili and Sigrid turned to once again face their people. Balin moved to the front of the stage where Dís was waiting with the tray. He laid back the cloth, and took up the Arkenstone.   
         Everyone gasped as he held it up, and Fili resisted the urge to wince. It wasn't the real thing, of course. That had been reburied, by Thorin, deep in the mountain, where it had been found, and the place sealed over with concrete, and Gandalf himself had placed many powerful warding spells in the area to keep people away.   
         Still, the people of Erebor, and more importantly, the Seven Families, saw the Arkenstone as the true symbol of Durin kingship, so Fili had worked with Gandalf for several weeks, coming up with a reasonable facsimile, without all of the mind altering properties of the original.   
         "I invest thee with the Arkenstone, that you may become defender of the health and prosperity of your kingdom."   
        Fili held the stone firmly in his left hand and waited. Balin returned to the tray and picked up a long, gold and jewel studded scepter, crowned with an intricately carved black marble raven.   
       "I invest thee with the Sovereign's scepter, that you may rule your people with justice and wisdom."   
       This Balin handed to Sigrid. She took the scepter in her right hand and laid it across her body, supporting the raven in the crook of her left elbow, and waited. He went back to the tray and picked up a sword.   
       "I invest thee with the Sovereign's sword, that you may defend your people, ever should the need arise." He handed it to Fili, who took it in his right hand. Balin passed behind Fili and Sigrid and went back to Dís, who had laid aside the tray.   
        Tilda and Tauriel had reappeared at her side, each carrying a crown on red and gold trimmed pillows. Balin took up the gold and black raven crown of the king, which Tauriel was carrying, and raised it up for all to see.   
        "The crown of the King of Erebor! May Mahal our Creator and Eru, Master of the World, enrich his heart with grace and wisdom. Crown him with all princely virtues for as long as he shall live."   
       He then turned and went to stand behind Fili, placing the crown on his head. Balin went next to Tilda, and took up the queen's crown. This was new, as one had never been needed before. The design was very similar to the one Fili was now wearing, but the raven's wings, instead of hanging down to frame her face, were folded back, and slightly up, as if the bird had just landed and was settling its feathers.   
          Balin held up the crown. "The crown of the Queen of Erebor! May Mahal our Creator and Eru, Master of the World, enrich her heart with grace and wisdom. Crown her with all princely virtues for as long as she shall live." He went back to the pair.   
          Sigrid had taken the momentary distraction of Balin's speech to kneel again, so that she was at head level with Fili. Lady Ithunn had been standing by with a pillow for just this moment. Balin was surprised to see Sigrid kneeling when he turned around, but never broke form. He stepped up behind her, and placed the crown on her head.   
When he moved away, she rose gracefully, and the crowd began to cheer. Balin bowed.   
          "Your Majesties; Long Live the King! Long Live the Queen!"   
          "Long Live the King! Long Live the Queen!" The crowd began chanting over and over. Fili and Sigrid exchanged happy smiles, and on impulse, Sigrid leaned down for a kiss. Fili was only too happy to oblige her, and the crowd roared with approval.   
        "Your Majesties, take your thrones." Balin bowed as the pair turned and ascended the three steps leading up to the ceremonial thrones and sat down.   
        Balin looked back at the crowd. "Kings, queens, lords, ladies, and all manner of gentlefolk gathered here: I present unto you their most gracious majesties, King Fili, and Queen Sigrid of Erebor!"   
       Fili looked over the crowd, then turned to look at his mother and uncle. Dís looked ready to burst with pride, though a little sad, and Thorin bowed to his nephew. Fili inclined his head slightly and rose. The people quieted, eager to hear what he had to say.   
        "Good people of Erebor, citizens of Dale, and visitors from every corner of Middle-Earth; Queen Sigrid and I thank you all for your welcome. Know that we stand humbled by your kindness and well wishes on this glorious day. We have sworn to serve you all with faith and diligence. May we all prosper together in the years to come."   
         He looked at Sigrid. "Dearest, our royal ear will ever be turned to thee for wisdom. By your grace and counsel, may all our decisions be made the better." He kissed her hand, and his ears began to ring as the crowd grew even louder. Fili resumed his seat.   
        "Well," Sigrid told him in a low voice. "That's the easy part done. Now comes the real work."

      Fili kissed her hand again. "No, now we feast and drink and dance. _Then_ comes the real work," He gave her an encouraging smile. "And we will face whatever comes – together. I love you."   
       "And I love you," Sigrid assured him. "Always."   
  
  
THE END   
ChibiMethos 2015-2017

 


End file.
